Die Allianz T-D-P » so that young runners strive to

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Woh joh paanch chhalle hote hain, woh bade saubhagya se milte hain (those five rings are reserved for a few fortunate ones), says Nitendra Singh Rawat, who will make up Indias first three-member mens marathon contingent at the Olympics in 56 years. Rawat will be competing alongside Gopi T and Kheta Ram at the Rio games and said ever since his qualification, I have felt an inner motivation, and my desire to work harder has also increased. I feel I must do something good, since I am going to represent my country there.A Havaldar with the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian army, Rawat was the first of the three Indians to qualify for Rio, at the 2015 World Military Games in Mungyeong, Korea in October 2015. His eighth-place finish came with a timing of 2h 18m 6s, well within the qualification mark of 2h 19m.The turning point for Rawats athletic career came when he represented India for the first time in March 2013 at a half-marathon in Korea, coming within seven seconds of the national record.For Rawat, the mark to aim for now in Rio is Shivnath Singhs 38-year-old national record for the marathon: 2h 12m, set in 1978. Shivnath also holds Indias personal best at the Olympics, where he finished 11th at the Montreal games in 1976. Rawat knows those numbers. After securing qualification for Rio in South Korea, Rawat notched up victories in the Delhi half-marathon in November 2015 and the Mumbai marathon in January 2016 -- setting an Indian course record of 2h 15m 48s in the latter -- before picking up the marathon gold at the South Asian Games in Guwahati in February, where he clocked 2h 15m 18s.Rupinder Singh, former national level middle-distance runner and athletics coach, considers Rawat one of the more consistent runners to have emerged from the Services. Hes a Physics graduate, which gives him a better insight into how to prepare. He trains the same way as the other marathoners, but he knows what is required to improve on his own performances, says Rupinder.Rawat grew up in Garur, a town in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand. Rawat played a lot of sport as a child, with hockey being his favourite through school. Iss desh mein cricket toh har koi khelta hai (In India, everybody plays cricket at some stage), he adds with a laugh.It wasnt until Rawat joined the Army that he took a liking to running long distances, though his initial distance of choice would be 5000 metres. It helped that if your name came up for a division-level meet, then you would get a vacation for 15 days to recover, Rawat says with a characteristic smile.ddddddddddddRupinder believes that Rawat could and should aim higher at the Olympics. Rio will be tough for our runners, because by and large, they have been clocking in excess of 2h 12m, whereas in Rio, I would expect the best runners to get close to 2h 7m and 2h 10m. The fact that Indian marathoners havent had more success internationally is quite surprising, says Rupinder.The national record was set by Shivnath Singh while running barefoot in Jalandhar in 1978.A discernible lack of ambition among Indian long-distance runners is the root cause for the lack of international medals says Rupinder, while highlighting how opportunities for them have increased within India.Though India have hosted so many marathons in the last few years, the focus is not on improving timing or encouraging younger marathoners. Theres so much of a hardsell to the corporates, thats theres often no incentive to improve on a best timing. Athletics is actually a sport where you can keep rewards much more quantifiable, so that young runners strive to improve their personal best. No doubt, there have been more rewards and more participation, but we still have a long way to go, says Rupinder.Nobody can blame Rawat for lack of ambition, or pragmatism, though. If I hadnt been a marathoner, I would have been running perhaps at the National championship. But I wouldnt have had the aim of doing something for my country, says Rawat. I had a limitation in the 5000m - I could have gone till Asian level, but not till a world level. I say this because I was aware of my speeds. I am what I am because of marathon.Massively inspired by Abhinav Bindras personalised message to all Olympians, and keen to rub shoulders with his track and field heroes including Haile Gebresselasie, Mo Farah and Usain Bolt in Rio, Rawat, whose favourite film Mohabbatein is a fair indication of his fondness for Hindi movies, signs off with a line that would not be out of place in a Bollywood potboiler.Jaise bola jaata hai dawaon se duayein zyaada kaam karti hain (they say prayers work better than medicines), so I would urge my countrymen that they should pray - not just for me but for each and every member of the Olympic contingent. Pray for us so that we can get more and more medals back for the nation. ' ' '