Three Indian race walkers, Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar on 19th April 2015 qualified for next year’s Rio Olympics after exceptional performances in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge at Rio Maior in Portugal.

Always Seek knowledge:

• National women’s 20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1:33:58, better than Rio 2016 qualification time of 1:35, though she finished 13th in the race.
• In the men’s 20km race walk, Manish Rawat logged to finish in top 10 with a timing of 1:22:50, above Rio Games qualification time of 1:24.
• National 50km race walk record holder Sandeep Kumar also qualified for Rio Games with a 14th-place finish in 1:23:32 after he received one warning.

India’s race walk squad were currently training in Rio Maior, Portugal, with the primary objective of Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification. They took part in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, also called Rio Maior Race Walking International Grand Prix.