There are times when the gruelling 10,000 metre race can force even the seasoned runners from African nations to withdraw midway. Ratiram Saini, who took the bronze medal for India on Thursday, has felt the urge many times but giving up midway is a luxury the humble runner from Alwar, Rajasthan, cannot afford.
Coming from a family that stays in a shanty and earns the livelihood through farming, Saini competes in every race with an hope that the state government will recognise his feat and help his family financially.
“We’re a family of four brothers and we stay in a kutcha house in Rajasthan. I often borrow money from friends and send it to them when I am at a national camp. I knew I had to run hard and I did so with full stamina,” said the runner who is employed with the Northern Railways as an electrical technician.
As he savoured his medal-winning effort at the Asian Athletic Championships here, his family and childhood coach S. Pratap Chauhan had moved to a neighbours’ house to watch him in action. “We don’t have a TV at home. Our monthly cost is not too much as you only need enough to feed the family twice a day.”
Training under national record holder and Olympian Surendra Singh and having faced severe hardships, Saini is mentally strong.
He believes the Ethiopians runners who represented Bahrain can be beaten.