Manju Rani is an Indian track and field athlete. She participated in the 2022 Asian Games and won a bronze medal in the team 35-kilometer race walking event.
Wiki/Biography
Manju Rani was born on Monday, March 22, 1999 in Mansa, Punjab, India (24 years old; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Aries. She grew up in the village of Kaila Kurd in Mansa district of the Indian state of Punjab.
appearance
Height: 5′5″
Weight (approximately): 55kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: brown
family
Parents and siblings
Her father Jagdish Ram was a farmer. When Manju Rani was two years old, her mother died in a drowning accident. She has an elder brother who serves in the Indian Police Service.
Manju Rani and her father
Manju Rani’s mother
Manju Rani and her brother
husband
She is unmarried.
Profession
In 2013, she started participating in race walking events. Later, she joined SAI at Badal in Muktsar district of Punjab and started training under the guidance of coach Pritpal Kaur.
Manju Rani and her coach Pritpal Kaur
At the age of 15, she won her first medal (bronze) in the race walking event at a national competition. In 2018, she joined the Indian Army as a Sipahi. In 2020, she began her career as a senior athlete. In 2022, she won a silver medal at the 9th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and set a national record in the 35-km race walk. In October 2022, she participated in the 36th National Games of Gujarat. In February 2023, she set a new national record in the women’s 35-kilometer race walking competition at the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi with a time of 2 hours, 57 minutes and 54 seconds. In the same year, she won the gold medal in the women’s 10-km race walking event at the 71st All India Police Athletics Championships. In 2023, she was selected for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. She participated in the first ever 35km mixed team race with Ram Baboo. Their total time was 5 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds, winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games.
medal
- Silver medal in 35 km race walking event at the 9th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand (2022)
Manju Rani after winning silver medal at 9th National Open Race Walking Championship 2022
- Silver Medal at the 36th National Games, Gandhinagar, Gujarat (2022)
- Won a gold medal in the 35km race walking event at the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand (2023)
Manju Rani after winning silver medal at 10th National Open Race Walking Championship 2023
- 62nd National Senior Interstate Track and Field Championships Gold Medal (2023)
- Bronze medal in 35km race walking mixed team at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (2023)
Congratulations to Ram Baboo and Manju Rani for bringing glory to India by winning the bronze medal in the 35km race walking mixed team event. This would not have been possible without the immense endurance and determination displayed by these incredible athletes. pic.twitter.com/IYiZ4Ectnz
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 4, 2023
salary
In 2023, her monthly salary as an Indian Army officer will be Rs 32,000.
tattoo
She has the word ‘Maa’ (Hindi) and a heartbeat tattoo on her left wrist.
Manju Rani’s tattoo on her left wrist
Facts/Trivia
- She revealed in an interview that before becoming a race walker, she was a handball player. As a handball player, she tried out for a school where handball was not one of the sports offered. So her coach at school suggested she try race walking. Manju said,
I had never done a foot race before, but I ended up finishing third. The coach was impressed with my performance and suggested that if I wanted to grow into a better athlete, I needed to train somewhere better. You need to lift your knees in a certain way when running. But even when I’m running, it looks like I’m walking. My coach Preetpal Kaur noticed and suggested that I must do race walking training. This gait is a gift from God and it comes naturally to me. ”
- She belongs to a family with a weak financial foundation. In an interview, when talking about how her father arranged the money to fund her training and diet, she said:
Although I am a member of SAI dormitory, I always need extra money to buy fruits, nuts and shoes. My father is a farmer. We have two acres of land to grow rice and wheat, but whenever I need money, he will find a way to send it to me. He used to lend money just so that I could train well. My father mortgaged his farmland. Most of the money was sent to me, and a little was spent on my grandfather’s treatment. ”
- In 2018, she got a job with Sashastra Sena Bal (SSB), which helped her financially support her training, diet, supplements and shoes. Initially, her salary was Rs 21,000. According to her, the salary was not enough as the shoes cost around 17,000 rupees and were only worn for a month. In 2019, she took a personal loan of Rs 8 lakh to train properly for her sport.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education