Manju Rani (Athlete) Wiki, Height, Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Manju Rani is an Indian track athlete. She participated in the 2022 Asian Games and won a bronze medal in the team 35 km race walk event.

Wiki/Biography

Manju Rani was born on Monday, 22 March 1999 (age 24 years; as of 2023) in Mansa, Punjab, India. Her zodiac sign is Aries. She grew up in Khaira Khurd village of Mansa district in Punjab, India. ^[1]Sportstar

Physical Appearance

^[2]Sportstar Height: 5′ 5″

Weight (approx.): 55 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Family

Parents & Siblings

Her father, Jagdish Ram, is a farmer. Her mother died in a drowning accident when Manju Rani was two years old. ^[3]The Indian Express ^[4]Sportstar She has an elder brother, who serves in the Indian Police.

Husband

She is unmarried.

Career

In 2013, she started participating in race walk events. She then joined SAI in Badal, Muktsar district, Punjab, and began her training under her coach Pritpal Kaur.

When she was 15 years old, she won her first medal (bronze) in a race walk event at a state-level competition. In 2018, she joined the Indian Army as a Sipahi. In 2020, she started her career as a senior athlete. In 2022, she won silver at the 9th National Open Race Walking Championship in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and made a national record in the 35 km race walk. In October 2022, she participated in the 36th National Games in Gujarat. In February 2023, she set a new national record of 2 hours 57 minutes and 54 seconds in the Women’s 35 Km Race Walking event at the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi. In the same year, she won gold in the women’s 10 Km race walk event at the 71st All India Police Athletic Championship. In 2023, she was selected for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. She, along with Ram Baboo, participated in the inaugural 35km mixed team event. They clocked a combined time of 5 hours 51 minutes and 14 seconds and won bronze at the 2022 Asian Games.

 

Medals

• Silver medal in 35 Km race walk event at the 9th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand (2022)
  

  Manju Rani after winning silver medal at the 9th National Open Race Walking Championships in 2022

• Silver medal at the 36th National Games in Gandhinagar, Gujarat (2022)

• Gold medal in 35 Km race walk event at the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand (2023)
  

  Manju Rani after winning silver medal at the 10th National Open Race Walking Championships in 2023

• Gold medal at the 62nd National Inter State Senior Athletic Championships (2023)

• Bronze medal in 35 Km race walk mixed team event at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (2023)

Congratulations to Ram Baboo and Manju Rani for bringing glory to India with their Bronze Medal in the 35km Race Walk Mixed Team event. This would not be possible without the tremendous endurance and determination shown by these amazing athletes. pic.twitter.com/IYiZ4Ectnz

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 4, 2023

Salary

In 2023, she earned a monthly salary of Rs 32000 as an Indian Army official. ^[5]The Times of India

Tattoo

She has got the word ‘Maa’ (in Hindi) and a heartbeat tattoo inked on her left hand’s wrist.

Facts/Trivia

• In an interview, she revealed that before becoming a race walker, she was a handball player. As a handball player, she attended a selection trial at a school for the sport, however, handball was not one of the sports offered there. So, her coach at the school suggested that she try racewalking. Manju said,
  

  I had never race-walked before that but I managed to finish third. The coach was impressed with my performance and advised that I must go and train at a better place if I have to grow into a better athlete. You need to lift your knees in a certain way while running. But even when I was running, it appeared as If I was walking. My coach Preetpal Kaur noticed and advised that I must train as a race walker. The gait is a God gift, it comes naturally to me.” ^[6]The Times of India

• She belongs to a family with a weak financial background. ^[7]The Times of India In an interview, while talking about how her father arranged money to fund her training and diet, she said,
  

  Although I was part of the SAI hostel, I always needed extra money for fruits, nuts and shoes. My father is a farmer. We have two acres of land in which we grow rice and wheat, but whenever I needed money, he would find a way to send it to me. He used to take loans just so that I could train well. ^[8]Sportstar My father mortgaged his agricultural land. Much of the money was sent to me and a bit was spent on my grandfather’s treatment.” ^[9]The Times of India

• In 2018, she got a job with Sashastra Sena Bal (SSB), which helped her financially support her training, diet, supplements, and shoes. Initially, she received a salary of Rs 21000. According to her, the salary wasn’t sufficient as the shoes were worth around Rs 17000, and they lasted only for a month. In 2019, she took a personal loan of Rs 8 lakhs to train well in her sport. ^[10]The Times of India