Indian long-distance runner Sanjivani Jadhav opened up on how she managed to arrange a self-funded trip to the USA, where she took part in international events and earned qualification to the Asian Championships.
Jadhav, 26, clocked 32:46.88s at the Portland Track Festival in USA on June 3. It bettered the qualification mark of 33:00.00 set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the Asian Championship which will be held in Pattaya, Thailand between June 12 to June 16.
The Indian athlete revealed that she had to sponsor her trip to the US from the money she had won from various marathons and half marathons she ran in India last year.
Speaking to Sportstar, Jadhav said,
In India, there isn’t much competition. I wanted to improve my timing by running with world-class athletes. So, I decided to go. Nobody sponsored me. I financed myself with the prize money I earned from marathons and half marathons. The total cost (of the trip) was about Rs 2.5 lakh. The flight ticket cost Rs 1.3 lakh.
In 2022, she ran the Delhi Half Marathon, Hyderabad Half Marathon, TCS World 10K Bengaluru and Kolkata 25K.
She further added,
The Federation (AFI) was to send me for training abroad but did not because of some reason. So, I had to spend from my pocket for the US trip. Coach Scott Simmons said I can come on my own, so I went there.
Jadhav is set to miss the Asian Games 2023 as her timing of 34:34.10 on Thursday was below the qualifying mark of 32:30.24 set by AFI.
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