Parul Chaudhary is an Indian athlete who participates in track and field sports such as long-distance running. She mainly appears in the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase events. She is famous for becoming the first Indian runner to complete the women’s 3000m race in under 9 minutes. In 2023, she attracted attention for winning the 5,000-meter gold medal and the 3,000-meter steeplechase silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Wiki/Biography
Parul Chaudhary Jhajj was born on Saturday, April 15, 1995 in Ikaruta Village, Meerut Island (age 28; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Aries. In 2011, she participated in the 800-meter race at school. During the race, she ran barefoot. She said in an interview that she participated in school competitions because of her father’s insistence. She didn’t prepare for the competition because she never wanted to be an athlete, but luckily, she won the competition. Her father spoke about the incident in an interview and said:
I originally planned to go to her school to watch the sports meeting. I told Parul to attend. No plan, just a piece of advice from a father to his daughter. I had no idea that she would represent India in athletics and reach the finals of the World Championships. “
According to her brother, she started practicing regularly after winning the 800-meter race at school. Her sister also participated in school competitions and used to practice with her. They used to run in the sugarcane fields and then cross the main road and return to the village. Parul competed in the 1,500 meters and 3,000 meters before choosing the 5,000 meters to compete professionally. In 2015, Parul joined the railways as a ticket collector at Grant Road station in Mumbai.
appearance
Height: 5′7″
Hair color: black
Eye color: brown
family and caste
Parul was born in Jat caste and belonged to Jhajj gotra.
Parents and siblings
Parul’s father, Kishanlal Chaudhary, is a farmer. Her mother’s name is Rajesh Devi.
Parul Chaudhry and her mother
She has two brothers, Rahul Chaudhary, a farmer and Rohit Chaudhary, a police officer. Her sister, Preeti Chaudhary, is a middle-distance runner and has joined CISF.
Parul Chowdhury’s father, mother and brothers
sports
Parul set a personal best of 15:36:03 in the 5,000 meters at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha.
Parul Chaudhry during Asian Athletics Championships
In 2022, she set a new national record in the women’s 3000m race at the Los Angeles Sunset Tour, breaking Suriya Loganathan’s six-year record. In July 2022, in the women’s 3000 meters, she broke Loganathan’s national record of 9:04.5 with a time of 8:57.19. In May 2023, she participated in the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix and set a new personal best of 9:29.51. In July 2023, she set a personal best time of 9:38.76 at the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. In August 2023, she set a national record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:15.31, which was also her personal best at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. She qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after setting a national record.
medal
Asian Games
- 2022 (Hangzhou): 5000m gold medal
- 2022 (Hangzhou): 3000m silver medal
Asian Athletics Championships
- 2019 (Doha): 5000m bronze medal
- 2023 (Bangkok): 5000m silver medal
- 2023 (Bangkok): 3000m gold medal
prize
In 2020, she received the Rani Laxmibai Award.
Parul Chaudhary wins Rani Laxmibai Award
Facts/Trivia
- She trains with coach Scott Simmons at the training facility in Colorado Springs.
- Parul’s mother added in an interview that both her daughters had won medals in competitions, but Parul usually came first and Preeti came second or third. This used to make Preeti a little sad, but they never argued about it. In another interview, Parul’s mother revealed that Parul was a fat child and it was difficult to hold her when she was a child. When she started running, she lost weight. Her mother further added that when her daughters run, many neighbors speak ill of them, but it does not affect them or the family. Even after Parul and her sister received medals, the villagers did not stop commenting.
- According to Parul, had she not been an athlete and lived in the village, she would have gotten married. In the interview, she further added that the people in the village are still very backward in their ideas. They think it’s wrong for girls to wear shorts and play sports. They even used to comment on her when they saw her running in shorts.
- According to Parul, initially, her main goal was to get a government job and leave the sport. When she joined the railway in 2015, she didn’t even bring any sports equipment. But things changed when Diana Edelji, former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team and railway veteran, encouraged her to focus on running. Following this advice, Parul participated in the National Open and finished fourth in 2015. Later, in 2016, she won a gold medal in a railway competition in Hyderabad. The win affected her so much that she decided to keep running.
- She entered the top 8 list twice at the Asian Championships.
- She is a 5 time national champion.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education