Harita Bhadra: India’s second fastest woman, Asian Games sprinter who runs a jewelery brand and adores Rafael Nadal

For the first time since she began her education, Harita Bhadra took a year without having to divide her attention between studies and athletics.She graduated from Loughborough University in the UK last year with a BSc in Sports Science, Coaching and Physical Education. This year she decided to focus only on athletics.That decision has already produced the most productive season of her career.This was followed by a national 60m indoor title, several personal bests, a national 200m title, Asian Games qualification and now a 100m in 11.22 seconds.The latest one took a while to sink in.Bhadra had just won the 100m final at the India Athletics Series Finals in New Delhi on Thursday. The clock read 11.22 seconds, another personal best and second fastest ever by an Indian woman.She looked stunned. Then Unnathi Bollanda, who finished fourth, came up to her and hugged her as Bhadra celebrated.The two will be teammates again at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Both will compete in the 200m and 4x100m relay.“I was very happy. Of course I am very happy to walk away with a PB,” Bhadra told Timesofindia.com.From 23.14 to debut at the Asian GamesThe Asian Games will be the 23-year-old’s first international competition.She earned her place in the 200m after winning the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar in June. Her 23.14 seconds was inside the Asian Games qualifying standard of 23.70 and moved her to ninth on India’s all-time list.Bhadra had already fallen below the qualifying mark in the heats and clocked 23.55.

harita bhadra asian games qualifiers

Her form in the 200 meters increased throughout the season. In June, she ran 23.58 at the Indian Series-10, a lifetime best at the time. She previously won the national indoor 60m title in 7.32 seconds.He will now take this form to the Asian Games as part of the Indian athletics contingent.“I’m very excited to be in the 200 because it will be my first international event ever,” she said. “I am excited to represent India and will do my best to win a medal for India.When asked what a successful Asian Games would look like, she kept the answer simple.“Definitely to be on the podium and get a personal best.”A year without a student-athleteThe decision to make athletics a priority this year came after years of being a student-athlete.“Since the beginning of my studies, I have been involved in studies and sports,” she said. “I graduated last year with a BSc in Sports Science Coaching and Physical Education from Loughborough University in the UK.”She wanted to see what a full year of training would bring.“And this year, I decided to take athletics so I could just focus on training because I’ve been a student-athlete since college,” she said. “So this year I wanted to have one myself.Her sprint started at Udayachal High School in Vikhroli, Mumbai. There were races on the school sports day. Her PE teacher suggested she join athletics and the school also had athletic training.“So it started at school,” Bhadra said. She began competing at the under-12 level. A shift in ambition came a few years later.“I think from under 16 it was serious,” she recalled. “I started (at) under-12 but from 16 I thought, this is what I want to, you know, reach (the level) so I can represent India and win medals for India.”Her family never made winning a condition.“I never got any pressure from them that you should win or you should win or you’re not doing well or anything,” she said. “They have always supported me and want me to do my best to be happy.This allowed her to enjoy the sport without feeling like she was coming into every race with the expectation of winning.“Just because of this environment that I get, I can also perform and, you know, enjoy and do the sport, not under pressure.”Bhadra also found a different training environment during the last year.“It’s been a year since I joined the Reliance Foundation. So it’s definitely helped me a lot.” she said.“And in that one year, I can see the progress I’ve made. It’s a collective progress, not just one year, because I’ve been training in previous years as well.”“It’s like my first time traveling with the team. So it doesn’t feel as small as if I have my family here,” she said.“If I need anything, I have coaches, I have a physical therapist, I have a nutritionist, I have someone to talk to. Plus teammates too.”Training alongside national and international athletes also changed her daily routine.“Training with national athletes, international athletes in itself is like, well, you have to push as well,” she said.“When you train regularly, you see national athletes and all. So it definitely pushes you because you want to achieve that as well.”Jewelry, Rafael Nadal and life off the trackThere is a lot going on in Bhadra’s life off the track as well.She has a handmade jewelry brand called Dagina. She designs and makes jewelry herself and sells it online.“So I designed and made the jewelry myself and I sell it online,” she said.Bhadra talks personality when asked about the athlete she admires the most.Her idol is Rafael Nadal.“I love his personality because he’s so strong mentally, but he’s also such a good person off the court,” Bhadra said.“He carries himself with such humility and, you know, like, I don’t know the right word for it, but he was my idol. That’s how I want to be.”He also admires Nadal’s respect for everyone and what he describes as a healthy rivalry.The next World Cup, the Olympics after thatFor Bhadra, the next goal after the Asian Games is the World Championships next season.“Obviously it’s the Asian Games for this season, but next season the World Cup is the target because I want to represent India in the World Cup,” she said.And the long-term goal is clear.“Like every Olympic medal.But Bhadra doesn’t want to spend too much time thinking that far ahead.“My mantra in life would be one day at a time,” she said. “It’s like I’m only thinking about one day at a time. I don’t want to think that far ahead.”“But we’re going to think one step at a time. I don’t want to think, and because I’m thinking so far, I think for me it’s just adding pressure, unnecessary pressure.”“So you should, like, my life mantra would be one day at a time.