Parul Chaudhary (Athlete) Wiki, Height, Age, Family, Biography & More

Parul Chaudhary is an Indian athlete participating in track and field sports like long-distance running. She mainly appears in 5000 metres and 3000 metres steeplechase. She is known for being the first Indian runner to complete the women’s 3000 m in under 9 minutes. She gained attention in 2023 for winning the gold medal in the 5000 m event and silver in the 3000 m steeplechase at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Wiki/Biography

Parul Chaudhary Jhajj was born on Saturday, 15 April 1995 (age 28 years; as of 2023) in Ikaluta village, Meerut. Her zodiac sign is Aries. In 2011, she took part in an 800 m race at school. In the race, she ran barefoot. In an interview, she said that she took part in the school race because her father insisted on her. She did not prepare for the race because she never wanted to become an athlete but fortunately, she won the race. In an interview, her father talked about this and said,

I was planning to go watch the sports meet at her school. I told Parul to participate. There was no plan, it was just a suggestion from a father to his daughter. I had no clue she would represent India in athletics and reach the final of a World Championships.”

According to her brother, she started practising regularly after winning the 800 m race in school. Her sister, who also took part in the school race used to practise with her. They used to run in the sugarcane fields, then cover the main road and then come back to the village. Parul used to run 1500 m and 3000 m races before choosing 5000 m to compete professionally. In 2015, Parul joined the Railways as a ticket examiner at Grant Road station in Mumbai.

Physical Appearance

^[1]The Indian Express Height: 5′ 7″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Family and Caste

Parul was born to the Jat caste and belongs to the Jhajj gotra.

Parents & Siblings

Parul’s father’s name is Kishanlal Chaudhary, who is a farmer. Her mother’s name is Rajesh Devi.

She has two brothers, Rahul Chaudhary, who is a farmer and Rohit Chaudhary, who is a police officer. Her elder sister’s name is Preeti Chaudhary, who is a middle-distance runner and has joined the CISF.

Athletics

Parul made her personal best of 15:36:03 in 5000 m at the Asian Athletics Championship in Doha in 2019.

In 2022, she broke Suriya Loganathan’s six-year-old record by achieving a new national record in the women’s 3000-meter event at the Sunset Tour in Los Angeles. In July 2022, broke Loganathan’s national record of 9:04.5 in the women’s 3000m event recording 8:57.19. In May 2023, she participated in the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix and made a new personal best of 9:29.51. In July 2023, she recorded 9:38.76 as her personal best in the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. In August 2023, she made a national record in the 3000m steeplechase at 9:15.31, which was also her personal best time at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. She qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after making the national record.

Medals

Asian Games

• 2022 (Hangzhou): Gold in 5000 m

• 2022 (Hangzhou): Silver in 3000 m

Asian Athletics Championships

• 2019 (Doha): Bronze in 5000 m

• 2023 (Bangkok): Silver in 5000 m

• 2023 (Bangkok): Gold in 3000 m

Awards

In 2020, she received the Rani Laxmibai Award.

She received the Arjuna Award from the President of India Droupadi Murmu on 9 January 2024; the event was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Facts/Trivia

• She trains at the training base in Colorado Springs under her coach Scott Simmons.

• In an interview, Parul’s mother added that both her daughters used to win medals in races but Parul usually came first and Preeti came second or third. This used to make Preeti a little sad but they never fought with each other about this. In another interview, Parul’s mother revealed that Parul was a fat kid and it was difficult to lift her when she was a child. She lost weight when she started running. Her mother further added that when her daughters used to run, many neighbours talked ill about them but this did not affect them or the family. The villagers did not stop making comments even after Parul and her sister won medals.

• According to Parul, if she was not an athlete and was living in the village, she would have been married. In the interview, she further added that the mindset of people in the village was still backward. They think that girls wearing shorts and playing a sport is wrong. They even used to pass comments on her when they saw her running in shorts.

• According to Parul, at first, her main goal was to get a government job and leave the sport. In 2015, when she joined the railways, she didn’t even bring her sports equipment with her. But things changed when Diana Edulji, a former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team and a veteran of the railways, encouraged her to focus on running. Following this advice, Parul participated in the Open National competition and finished fourth in 2015. Then, in 2016, she won a gold medal in a railway competition held in Hyderabad. This victory had a big impact on her, and she decided to continue running.

• She entered into the top 8 list at the Asian Championships twice.

• She is a 5 times national champion.