Asian Games 2023: Harmilan Bains aiming for gold in women’s 800m after silver medal win in 1500m race

Harmilan Bains, a 25-year-old Indian athlete hailing from Mahilpur town in Punjab, has made her mark in the Asian Games by securing a silver medal in the women’s 1500m race.

This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it mirrors the success of her mother, Madhuri, who won a silver medal in the 800m race at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

Harmilan completed the 1500m race in 4 minutes and 12.74 seconds, a time slightly slower than her national record of 4:05.39. However, she is not resting on her laurels. She is now setting her sights on the 800m race, the same event in which her mother triumphed. If she succeeds, she will surpass her mother’s achievements, a prospect she playfully alludes to with the phrase, “Mom, 800m is still there.”

Her journey to this point has been marked by determination and resilience. Born into an athletic family, her father, Amandeep Bains, is a South Asian Games medallist and a former men’s 1500m national champion. Harmilan began her international career in 2016, winning a bronze medal in the 1500m race at the Asian Junior Championships in Vietnam. However, her progress was temporarily halted in 2017 due to a knee injury that required over a year of recovery.

Despite this setback, she bounced back in 2019, winning a 1500m bronze at the Federation Cup in Patiala. In 2021, she set a new national record in the 1500m race at the National Open Championship, clocking in at 4:05.39 and surpassing Sunita Rani’s previous record of 4:06.03. Unfortunately, another knee surgery meant she had to miss the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Despite these challenges, Harmilan has remained undeterred, stating, “For nearly a year, I did not do anything… then again on the track, and now an Asian Games medallist.” Her story is a testament to her tenacity and the enduring legacy of her family’s athletic prowess.