Bus conductor’s daughter qualifies for Tokyo Olympics

She  broke the National record in the 20 km walk in the process. This occurred on the Open National and International race walking championship in Ranchi on February 13. Her timing of 1:28:45 broke the national record by over a minute. Her father Madan Goswami is a bus conductor in Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka is originally from Sagdi village in Muzaffarnagar; the family currently lives in Meerut. A graduate in Arts, she is currently attending the Sports Authority of India’s training camp in Bengaluru.

“In 2007 I first started taking an interest in gymnastics as I had a flexible body, I also realized that I had good stamina when I won an 800 meter race in my school, so I switched to track events.”

Priyanka feels she has an excellent likelihood to win a medal at the Olympics. My best timing is 1:27, but it will depend on the weather (in Tokyo), whether it is hot or cold,” she says.

She has gained several medals to her name and has also participated in worldwide meets in Italy in 2016, Japan, and Taipei. She will be visiting Japan for second time when she participates in the Olympics.

Priyanka works as a clerk in the Indian Railways, after getting the job through the sports quota. She is a vegetarian and avoids all oily food.