Valsad’s Rahul Jakhar creates history by winning decathlon gold in Asian U-20 Athletics, creates national record

Vapi. A proud moment has come for the sports world of Gujarat. 18-year-old young athlete Rahul Jakhar from Charwada village of Valsad district has created history by winning the gold medal in the decathlon event in the 22nd Asian U-20 Athletics Championship held in Hong Kong (China). Rahul not only won the gold medal for India, but also made a new national record in the Under-20 category.

In this prestigious competition held from 27 to 31 May, Rahul Jakhar performed brilliantly in the decathlon event, considered to be the toughest event in athletics. Decathlon requires players to compete in 10 different events over the course of two days, including 100 m, 400 m, 110 m hurdles, 1500 m run, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and pole vault.

Rahul showed excellent balance and consistency in all these events and scored a total of 7,185 marks. With this performance he has become Asia’s best U-20 decathlete. Apart from this, he has also made a place among the top-8 players in the world ranking. His dream of becoming an athlete was awakened after seeing the field.

Rahul’s family, originally from Sikar district of Rajasthan, has been living in Vapi, Valsad and is involved in the construction business for the last 30 years. Rahul’s success story is no less than an inspirational film story.

A few years ago, Rahul had gone out for a walk with his father in the evening. Seeing players practicing in a field aroused in his mind the desire to become an athlete. The very next day he also started practicing for the race. Later, he participated in the Sports Mahakumbh on behalf of the school and won the gold medal in long jump, which gave a new boost to his confidence. Rahul started his sports career under the guidance of coach Vipul Choudhary at the District Level Sports School (DLSS) located in the stronghold of Banaskantha. In view of his talent, in the year 2024, he was selected in the High-Performance Center of Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) located in Nadiad.

Here, under the guidance of coaches Shivam Upadhyay, Dharmendra Parmar and Satesh Upadhyay, Rahul mastered the complex techniques of decathlon. Today, the same youth, who once used to stand outside the field and watch the players, is standing on the winning podium of Asia and making the country and Gujarat proud. Giving credit for his success to the world-class sports facilities and training system provided by the Gujarat government, Rahul Jakhar said, “This achievement has been possible only because of the world-class facilities and opportunities provided to us by the Gujarat government. Now my next goal is to hoist the Indian tricolor in the Commonwealth Games and Olympics, for which I am I am ready to work hard day and night.” This achievement of Rahul Jakhar proves that on the basis of determination, hard work and right guidance, talents emerging from rural level can also create history on the international stage.