Who is Bapi Hansda? Know all about the rising star of Indian athletics

Bapi Hansda is an Indian athlete who won a historic silver medal in the men’s 400m hurdles event at the Asian Under-18 Athletics Championships 2023 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in April.

It was India’s first silver medal in the boys 400m hurdles event at the youth continental championships.

In fact, Bapi Hansda’s timing of 51.38s - his personal best - in Tashkent was better than the previous meet record of 51.96s and would’ve been enough to win him a gold in any of the earlier editions.

What’s even more staggering is the fact that the 17-year-old Bapi Hansda was running the 400m hurdles event only for the fifth time in his career, and that too at his maiden international event.

"This was my first major international competition. I am very happy that I won silver. To get it with a personal best was even more satisfying,” Bapi Hansda said after the race.

“I hope to keep improving in the future. Before the race, I was a little nervous as I had finished third in the heats. But before the race, the coach took me aside during the warm-ups and calmed me down. I felt pretty good after that and my mind was in a good space."

Where is Bapi Hansda from?

Bapi Hansda hails from Basta in Balasore - a coastal city in Odisha. The youngest of five siblings, the young runner grew up in poverty and endured his share of struggles after losing his father in 2008. Bapi found his passion for sports at a young age and it was athletics that caught his fancy.

Bapi’s eldest brother even worked as a sweeper at a railway station to fund his training in the early years

Soon enough, Bapi Hansda’s struggles and talents shone through. Bapi Hansda was spotted by the Odisha High-Performance Center in 2019. Since then, he has been training under head coach Martin Owens.

Bapi Hansda’s achievements

In 2023, Bapi Hansda catapulted into the limelight when he won the 400m hurdles race at the 18th National Youth Athletics Championships in Udupi in March with a time of 51.95s in the finals. Earlier, in the heats, he had clocked 51.90 - his previous personal best and a meet record.

With the effort, Bapi Hansda became world No. 1 in the Under-18 category for the boys 400m hurdles event and qualified for the Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2023.

Bapi participated at the Commonwealth Youth Games 2023 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago as well.

The following year, at the National Junior U20 Federation Athletics Championships in Lucknow, Bapi Handsa competed in the men’s 400m and made the cut for the Asian U20 Athletics Championships 2024. He also won the gold medal by clocking 46.90, a new meet record, in the final.

Bapi Hansda’s medals

Gold medal - 400m hurdles - 18th National Youth Athletics Championships in Udupi - 2023

Silver medal - 400m hurdles - Asian Youth Athletics Championships, Uzbekistan - 2023