Race begins at the finish
Sayed Roshan
Unassuming Nitish Jha beats the odds, 40 others to make it to The Fastest Indian final.
It took just 29 seconds for Nitish Jha to realise he had what it takes to be winner. Standing in the crowd of 40 hopefuls in the boys under-14 200m event at the GAIL-The Fastest India event, Nitish beat them all to the top podium.
For him, the thought of going out of Mumbai would only mean in search of a job.
Nitish, whose father is an auto driver, helps his mother during the day. In the evening he attends Anandilal Podar Vidyalaya (Hindi Medium), located in Santacruz (West).
When the Class Eight student arrived at the University Sports Ground in Kalina, he found his competitors doing weird things and wearing unusual pair shoes for a simple event as running.
Being the curious lad that he is, Nitish asked his rivals what they were doing. “Someone told me that he was warming up, before the event. The boy added that stretching would help him relax his body before the race and prepare him better for the race. I too joined them in the warm-up,” he said, still holding on to that smile.
According to him, he felt uncomfortable when he saw some of them wearing shoes with needles (spikes).
“I ran without shoes as I didn’t have shoes with needles. I don’t think I can run wearing them,” Jha added.
It was not only Nitish who was surprised with his victory, but the teacher, Aparna Saboo, from Ajngel Express Foundation too found it surprising.
“We had no idea that he would win the race. We just brought him for the competition as we also believe in curricular activities. We will now provide him the kit for his Bangalore run,” a surprised Saboo said.
Nitish is very religious in whatever he does. “When his friends were busy distracting him before the race, he kept praying and warming up, which he tried to learn today itself,” said Saboo.
While Nitish completed the 200m race in 29.00secs, Digish Rohit grabbed the second spot in 30.08secs and Ritin Suvarna finished third in 31.49secs. Jha will now compete with the finalist from 19 cities in Bangalore on December 14.
Results
Boys’ 200 Meters
1. Nitesh Jha 29.00sec
2. Digish Rohit 30.08sec
3. Ritin Suvarna 31.49sec
Girls’ 200 Meters
1 Melanie Rodrigues 28.12sec
2 Chaarvi Poojari 28.38sec
3 Vaibhavi Pai Vernekar 28.72sec
Boys’ 100 Meters
1 Aniket Sonule 14.15sec
2 Rais Mashalkar 14.38sec
3 Basant Mane 14.59sec
Girls’ 100 Meters
1 Melanie Rodrigues 13.58sec
2 Vaibhavi Pai Vernekar 14.00sec
3 Shravani Waingankar 14.49sec
Boys’ 400 Meters
1 Mairaj Khan 1.12.81min
2 Zaid Shaikh 1.15.64min
3 Shivang Dagha 1.19.20min
Girls’ 400 Meters
1 Sehyr Patel 1.05.92min
2 Charrvi Poojari 1.07.00min
3 Aditi Chalke 1.11.06min
Unassuming Nitish Jha beats the odds, 40 others to make it to The Fastest Indian final.
It took just 29 seconds for Nitish Jha to realise he had what it takes to be winner. Standing in the crowd of 40 hopefuls in the boys under-14 200m event at the GAIL-The Fastest India event, Nitish beat them all to the top podium.
For the 13-year-old night-school student, running was all about fun at Juhu Beach. Staying at Juhu Koliwada sand-race is a regular feature along with his friends. “I just ran the way I run at Juhu beach with my friends. I was told about this event only three days ago. I cannot believe that I will be going to Bangalore,” an excited Nitish told Mirror after the race.
For him, the thought of going out of Mumbai would only mean in search of a job.
Nitish, whose father is an auto driver, helps his mother during the day. In the evening he attends Anandilal Podar Vidyalaya (Hindi Medium), located in Santacruz (West).
When the Class Eight student arrived at the University Sports Ground in Kalina, he found his competitors doing weird things and wearing unusual pair shoes for a simple event as running.
Being the curious lad that he is, Nitish asked his rivals what they were doing. “Someone told me that he was warming up, before the event. The boy added that stretching would help him relax his body before the race and prepare him better for the race. I too joined them in the warm-up,” he said, still holding on to that smile.
According to him, he felt uncomfortable when he saw some of them wearing shoes with needles (spikes).
“I ran without shoes as I didn’t have shoes with needles. I don’t think I can run wearing them,” Jha added.
It was not only Nitish who was surprised with his victory, but the teacher, Aparna Saboo, from Ajngel Express Foundation too found it surprising.
“We had no idea that he would win the race. We just brought him for the competition as we also believe in curricular activities. We will now provide him the kit for his Bangalore run,” a surprised Saboo said.
Nitish is very religious in whatever he does. “When his friends were busy distracting him before the race, he kept praying and warming up, which he tried to learn today itself,” said Saboo.
While Nitish completed the 200m race in 29.00secs, Digish Rohit grabbed the second spot in 30.08secs and Ritin Suvarna finished third in 31.49secs. Jha will now compete with the finalist from 19 cities in Bangalore on December 14.
Results
Boys’ 200 Meters
1. Nitesh Jha 29.00sec
2. Digish Rohit 30.08sec
3. Ritin Suvarna 31.49sec
Girls’ 200 Meters
1 Melanie Rodrigues 28.12sec
2 Chaarvi Poojari 28.38sec
3 Vaibhavi Pai Vernekar 28.72sec
Boys’ 100 Meters
1 Aniket Sonule 14.15sec
2 Rais Mashalkar 14.38sec
3 Basant Mane 14.59sec
Girls’ 100 Meters
1 Melanie Rodrigues 13.58sec
2 Vaibhavi Pai Vernekar 14.00sec
3 Shravani Waingankar 14.49sec
Boys’ 400 Meters
1 Mairaj Khan 1.12.81min
2 Zaid Shaikh 1.15.64min
3 Shivang Dagha 1.19.20min
Girls’ 400 Meters
1 Sehyr Patel 1.05.92min
2 Charrvi Poojari 1.07.00min
3 Aditi Chalke 1.11.06min
