'Fear of losing job stopped me from quitting athletics'

Sudha won the 3000M run at Guangzhou as Indian athletes put up a remarkable show at the sporting extravaganza.

The runner from Rae Bareilly said her confidence took a nosedive when she failed to recover from illness and even thought of giving up her sports career but the benefits of the government job kept her going.

“After getting a job in the Railways in Mumbai through the sports quota following good performances in several events, I fell seriously ill for about one year and during this period, I had thought of almost giving up sports,” Sudha, on a visit to her home district after returning from China, said.

“I had lost confidence during that phase but I think it was the fear of losing the job which kept me going. It motivated me to make another attempt and the journey that followed thereafter resulted in bringing accolades not just for me but also the country. Guangzhou was a golden destination in this long journey,” she said. Sudha, who had her early training at the KD Singh Babu stadium in Lucknow, said in her preliminary stages, also said that she had never thought of making sports a career, leave alone winning a gold.

“I started by competing in school events and that gradually resulted in me making sports a full time career,” she said, adding that she never had guidance from any top athlete.

Success at the school level brought her to Lucknow and after finishing sixth in the steeplechase event in the 2006 inter-railways competition, she decided to make sport a full-time career.

She is hoping her winning streak will continue and that she would be able to repeat her performance in 2012 London Olympics.