From Haryana’s Gandhi Gram to Gujarat’s Gandhinagar – Parvej Khan rules the track 

A couple of months after the Partition, Mahatma Gandhi visited Ghasera Village in Mewat – a Muslim dominated region in Haryana, around 70km at south of Delhi – to convince Meo Muslims not to migrate to Pakistan. Since then the people of Mewat gave the village a new name ‘Gandhi Gram’ and the field from where Gandhi spoke, now houses a government school.

To celebrate the Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 in 2017, a sports meet was organized at the same place where Gandhi stopped the Meo from migrating. Parvej, a native of Chahalka Village in Mewat, now Nuh district, won gold in 800m and was subsequently introduced to the world of athletics.

The hardships, including financial constraints, and even missing of athletics track in the entire district, couldn’t deter Parvej, who comes from the country’s one of the most backward districts, achieving excellence in sports.

Parvej created a new National Games record in 1500 meters in the ongoing 36th edition of the Games in Gujarat. Athletics events are taking place in Gandhinagar. He clocked 3:48.89 sec for gold.

“I am happy that I was not only able to win gold, but also created a new National Games record,” says Parvej, who got a job in the Indian Navy this year in March.  

“In Mewat, people have very little landholdings and there is hardly any job opportunity, so for the youngsters, a job in the defence forces is the only option for a decent living. When I started running my focus was only a job, but later when I came across athletes, my target shifted to achieving national and international glory,” says Parvej, who represented the services in the Games.

“For this gold, I had gone through a lot of hardship. For the last one year, I didn’t visit my home and was busy with training. I am thankful to my coach Anupama Srivastava, who helped me a lot in the last two years. Before getting the job, she even helped me financially, so that I could stay in Bhopal and train.”