Sudha Singh (born 25 June 1986) is an Indian Olympic athlete in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an

Asian Champion Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

in the discipline and has won two gold and four silver medals at varying editions of the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...

and the continental championships. Singh's breakthrough came at the 2010 Asian Games in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

, where she won the gold medal in steeplechase. She has since won a gold at the

2017 Asian Athletics Championships The 2017 Asian Athletics Championships was the 22nd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships. It was held from 6 to 9 July 2017 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India. Bhubaneswar was the third Indian city to host Asian Championships ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

and a silver at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

in Jakarta and has represented India at two consecutive

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2016. Singh was conferred with India's second highest sporting honour, the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, on ...

in 2012.She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

in 2021.

Career

Singh's breakthrough performance came in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China when she won the gold medal with a time of 9:55.67; she became the first Asian Champion in the discipline as it was the first instance of the 3000 meters steeplechase at the

. In June 2012, Singh qualified for Olympic Games 2012 after she broke her own 3,000m steeplechase national record with a timing of 9:47.70 secs. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Singh finished 13th in her steeplechase heat and did not qualify for the finals. In the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, Sudha finished fourth, one place behind Lalita Babar who not only won the bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase event but also broke Sudha's national record, clocking 9:35.37 in the process. However, the gold medallist Ruth Jebet from Bahrain was disqualified on account of stepping inside the track before crossing the line, and Singh was promoted and won the bronze medal. In August 2015, Sudha Singh sealed her spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a 19th-place finish in the women's marathon event, one place behind O.P.Jaisha in Beijing. Singh finished just behind Jaisha at 19th with a time of 2:35:35. Maharashtra's

Lalita Babar Lalita Babar (born 2 June 1989) is an Indian long-distance runner. She was born in a small village in the Satara district, Maharashtra. She predominantly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and is the current Indian national record holde ...

finished the 3000 meters steeplechase in 9:27.09 to win the gold and set the national record while Sudha, representing Uttar Pradesh, came up with a timing of 9:31.86 and bettered the Rio Games qualification standard of 9:45.00 on the second and penultimate day of the Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in Delhi. Singh bettered the national Record in May 2016, at the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF)

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. At the 2016 Summer Olympics Singh took ill after competing and returned to India, where she was diagnosed with swine flu and ruled out from competition for the rest of the season.Rio Olympian Sudha Singh tested positive for Swine Flu, not Zika
DNA India (2016-08-23). Retrieved on 2016-08-24. Singh participated in the

in Jakarta, having trained under her new coaches Lalit Bhanot and Renu Kolhi. She won the silver medal in the 3000 meters steeplechase with a time of 9:40.04 minutes. Singh told ''The Quint'' that she was dropped from the team owing to her age, but was happy that she could come up with a medal under the tutelage of her new support staff. She said: "I am very happy that I won the medal despite everyone telling me that I'm too old to compete at the International circuit ..My critics have motivated me to do better."

Awards and honours

Following her gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, Singh was awarded the Manyawar Shri Kanshiram Ji International Sports Award by Government of Uttar Pradesh. Singh was subsequently conferred with the

(India's second highest sporting honour) by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2012.

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sudha 1986 births Living people Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Indian female long-distance runners 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Indian female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Athletes from Uttar Pradesh Sportswomen from Uttar Pradesh People from Raebareli