Indian athlete Parvej Khan secured a gold medal at the SEC Outdoor Track And Field Championships in the 1500-metre race. Khan qualified for the final in style after finishing first with a timing of 3:44:98 secs. He improved his performance in the finals as he ran the race in 3:42.73 secs to win his second medal of the competition. The 19-year-old also won the bronze medal in the 800-metre race in the same competition.
Hailing from Mewat, Haryana, Parwez Khan studies at the University of Florida, where he is part of the Florida Gators’ Track and Field team. Since moving to the US on a scholarship, this is the first time that Khan has grabbed the headlines. However, he had been making waves across domestic tournaments in India before that as well.
His first big break came when he won the Gold medal in the 800m race at the U-16 Nationals. He also won a bronze medal at the U-18 Khelo India Games in 2020. Parvej Khan won a lot of medals at the U-23 level in India, but his greatest achievement domestically came at the Indian National Games in 2022 when he won the gold medal in the 1500-metre race with a timing of 3:40.98 secs.
Parvej Khan’s journey has been inspirational
Parvej Khan comes from a humble family in Mewat, Haryana. His father is a farmer, but that has not stopped Khan from fulfilling his dreams. The 19-year-old was always hard-working and determined to be successful from a small age. His father stated that Parvej would prioritize running over his studies during his days in school. However, that seemed to work for him as he created history for India at the NCAA tournament.
The young runner left his hometown at the age of 13 to look for better opportunities. He first moved to Delhi and then later decided to shift to Bhopal and train at the Sports Authority of India. Currently, Khan is in safe hands at the University of Florida as their track and field team have contributed some Olympic medal winners like Grant Holloway, Michelle Freeman, Bernard Williams, Novlene Williams and many more.
