Basanta Bahadur Rana
Sepoy Basanta Bahadur Rana (born 18 January 1984 in Chamkipur, Nepal[1]) is an Indian athlete who competes in racewalking.[2] He represented India in the 50 km race walk event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His personal best in this event before the Games was 4:02:13 and he bettered it by clocking a time of 3:56:48, a new national record.
 Basanta Bahadur Rana in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | 18 January 1984 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service/ |  Indian Army |
| Rank | Sepoy |
| Unit | Gorkha Rifles |
| Sport | |
| Country | India |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | 50 km walk |
| Club | Services Sport Control Board, Delhi |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 3:56:48 (London 2012) NR |
| Updated on 11 August 2012. | |
2012 Summer Olympics
Basanta qualified for the Olympics at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia in May 2012, with a B qualifying standard. He was trained by the former national record holder Gurdev Singh. In the 1960 Olympics at Rome, Zora Singh was 8th clocking 4:37:44.6s.
Basanta finished 36th in the event by setting a new national record of 3:56:48. By setting this record, Basanta broke the previous national record of 4:16:22 clocked by his mentor Gurdev Singh who had set it in Hyderabad in 2005.[3]
Personal life
Basanta is from a hamlet, located 12 hours north of Kathmandu.[4] He joined the Indian army in 2002 and is currently serving at the Gorkha Regiment. Basanta is supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company.[5]
References
- Sports-Reference profile
- IAAF Profile
- Shreedutta Chidananda (2012-07-08). "FEATURES / SUNDAY MAGAZINE : The loneliness of the long-distance walkers". The Hindu. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/london-olympics-2012/olympics-2012-teamindia/basantrana.cms
- "An introduction to Indian long distance walkers". The Hindu. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
