It was a night on which Vishal TK clocked the men’s 400m National Record time and Baranica Elangovan equaled the women’s Pole Vault Meet Record. It was understandable that other performances in the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai flew under the radar of even hardcore fans of track and field sport.
However, a redemption story, built on the bricks and mortar of patience and perseverance, a commitment to clean sport and a determination to find the right technique, catches the eye. Kachnar Chauhdary’s victory in the women’s Shot Put, her maiden gold medal in the senior ranks, took a load off her shoulders.
“I had lost so many times that Thursday’s win came as a nice surprise for me. I had not expected a win like I had expected earlier this season. I am happy for my family that they could see me win. For myself, it is big mental boost,” she said. “I guess I was prepared to lose but while competing I felt strong and fresh, thought it was a mental fight for me.”
Kachnar Chaudhary recalled that she had told her roommate, long-distance runner Seema, that the entire season had been challenging for her. “But each time I walked into our room, I would see my reflection in a large mirror. I was surprised how strong I was looking. I told her told that I had to fight mentally to believe that I was strong,” she said. “Perhaps I need to look the mirror often.”
She said a recent change in mindset from focusing on distance to paying attention to technique has helped her. That got reiterated on Thursday itself. “After getting 15.75m on the fourth attempt, I focused on getting a greater distance. As a consequence, my technique went for a toss. I am more convinced now than before that I must focus on technique,” she said.
On Thursday, the Rajasthan athlete who had the three best efforts among the 10 competitors would have won gold with even her second put (15.41m). “I knew I had prepared well, felt good and found it easy to get the second best effort of my competitive career,” she said. “I should have continued to focus on technique.”
She has another very good reason to be happy. The gold medal came when she was preparing for final LLB examinations. Already an MA in English, she says it is not difficult balancing sports with academics. The 26-year-old hoped that her success would convey the right messages to younger athletes.
Of course, Thursday was not the best of days for Vidhi (15.30), Shiksha (15.18) and Srishti Vig (15.05). Each of them had passed the 16m mark earlier this year while, going into the competition in Chennai, Kachnar Chauhdary’s best of 15.43m did not feature in the top 15 efforts by Indians in 2025.
In some ways, the gold medal came as reward for perseverance. “It was tough post lockdown. From being on the podium, I would slip to fourth, fifth or sixth places. There have been times I have finished eighth or ninth as well. I would end up crying for days on end to the point that my father (Paresh Chaudhary), a pillar of support, suggested I move away from sport,” she recalled.
“He has been my strength through my career, and it was time for me to make him stronger with my commitment and perseverance,” she said, pointing out that there were good signs when she won gold in the World Police and Fire Games in Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America, but that performance of 15.60m does not find a place in the World Athletics records.
“Over the years, the lessons that my father taught me have stayed with me. And while I appreciate and admire the hard work of each of my competitors, I focus on myself during competitions and what I have to do each time I pick up a shot and step into the throwing circle,” she said. “I am happy for my family that they could see me win.”
It took her seven years after she won a silver medal in the 2018 National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Guwahati to claim her maiden gold at the national level. “The decision to be patient and to persevere was deliberate. My father told me not to take any short cuts, impressing on me that it is better to compete for long and to stay at the top as long as possible,” she said.
“Honestly, I was expecting a good result at home earlier in the year and was disappointed. The feeling after not making it to the podium lingered for days, but now I am surprised that I am calm and am already looking forward to the next competition,” she said, setting her sights on finishing the season well in the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi at the end of next month.
A Rajasthan Police Sub-Inspector, she is confident that with the correct approach she can go close to the 17m mark over the next year. “I am clear that I will do it the right way, ethically, morally and legally,” she said, getting ready to head back to her training base in the Reliance Foundation facility in Navi Mumbai.
