Double delight for runner Isha Jadhav

Isha Jadhav with her two gold medals she won at the state meet in 200m and 400m

Isha Jadhav of Palghar district, felt she exceeded her expectations as she won gold medals in the 200m and 400m events at the 36th Maharashtra State Junior Athletics Meet. And the icing on the cake was being adjudged the best athlete in women U-18 category.

At the Priyadarshini Park in Mumbai recently, she finished with a timing of 55.93 seconds in the 400m ahead of Satara's Anushka Kumbhar (58.42s) and Pune's Khushi Umesh (1:00.21s). In the 200m category, Isha clocked 25.85s for her gold. Pune athletes Gauravi Naik (27.06s) and Khushi Umesh (27.15s) won silver and bronze respectively.

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"This is the first time I have won gold at a state meet…in fact two [golds]. In the 2018 state meet at Karad, I won bronze in my main event [400m]. So winning two gold medals felt amazing. For me, getting my best timings is what mattered more than being adjudged the best athlete in the U-18 category. It feels nice when you are named the best, but I do not want that tag to affect my performance in my next meets. I couldn't have achieved this without the constant support of my parents [mom Swati and dad Rajesh], coaches [Sandeep Singh Lathwal and childhood coach Prakash sir]," she told www.mid-day.com.

Meanwhile, Isha, who was a student of Matrix Academy School in Virar, is not just good at sports. In her Class 10 board exams, she passed with 92% marks. "For me, studies are equally important. I am awaiting my college admissions to come through. I got 92% and I couldn't have asked for more," explained Isha, who used to stay in Goregaon till 2017 before her family shifted to Virar.

Isha now wants to train hard and ensure she does well at the national meets. "Even though I'm good at studies, I want to be an athlete. My aim is to do well in my next tournament [Youth Games in Bhopal next month]," said Isha, whose favourite Indian athlete is World U-20 Athletics bronze-medallist (400m) Rupal Chaudhary.

She idolises America's 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist [in 400 m hurdles and 4x400m relay], Sydney Michelle McLaughlin.