KOLKATA (India): After spending a little more than three years as Indian Railways Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at city’s Howrah station, Bhavna Jat now hopes to represent the country at next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.
Hailing from a peasant family in Rajasthan’s Kabra village, Bhavna till recently was a TTE at 4, 5 and 6 gate of the station, one of the busiest in the country.
The 24-year-old qualified for the Olympics after setting a new national record in the 20 km walking distance at the National Open Championship in Ranchi. She won a gold clocking 1: 29.54 seconds which earned an Olympic ticket (QT time 1: 31.00 sec).
She is currently training at the national camp in Bangalore.
“I got a job in the railways in 2016. My first posting as TTE was at Kamarkundu station. After spending a year and a half, I was posted at Howrah,” she told the media.
Due to her strict work schedule, she couldn’t attend trainings. But Bhavna he took a three months unpaid leave in December to travel to Jaipur where she trained under her personal coach Gurmukh Sihar.
“I think the decision paid off,” said Bhavna, who has been exempted from joining duty after qualifying for the Olympics.
Bhavna has two elder brothers in her family. Prakash Jat, brother of Bhavna, made efforts to provide her with all kinds of facilities in supporting her passion.
Due to financial constraints, Bhavna had to leave college studies. She has been preparing for the last 10 years and had won the silver medal at the national level while studying in the village school.
Bhavna is confident she will bring a medal for the country.
“I will try my best. Seeing the performance timings from last Olympics, I think I might have a good chance of winning a medal. I have started practising already,” added Bhavna.
