Manish Singh

Manish Singh Rawat
Born	Manish Singh Rawat 5/5/1991
Birthplace	Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Racewalker, police officer
Employer	Uttarakhand State Police
Known for	20 km and 50 km racewalking

Manish Singh Rawat (born 5 May 1991) is an Indian racewalker who competes in the 20 kilometre and 50 kilometre events. Born in Chamoli, a district in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, Rawat's journey from a landless agricultural labourer and former waiter to a national-level athlete and participant in global athletics championships represents one of Indian sport's more unlikely trajectories. He is employed by the Uttarakhand State Police and has been a member of the Indian racewalking squad, competing at events including the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing and qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Rawat has been supported through the GoSports Foundation's Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme, which provides developmental assistance to emerging Indian athletes.

Early Life

Manish Singh Rawat was born on 5 May 1991 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India. Chamoli is a remote, mountainous district in the Garhwal division of the state, situated in the western Himalayas. Rawat came from an economically disadvantaged background; his family were landless agricultural labourers, and he worked in various manual occupations to support himself during his formative years, including employment as a waiter.

The circumstances of Rawat's early life presented significant obstacles to pursuing a career in competitive athletics. Access to professional coaching, training facilities, and financial resources—elements commonly available to athletes in more developed sporting ecosystems—were limited for a young man from a rural, economically marginalised family in the hill regions of Uttarakhand. Despite these challenges, Rawat gravitated toward athletics, and specifically toward the discipline of racewalking, a technically demanding event that requires athletes to maintain continuous contact with the ground while achieving speeds that approach running pace over distances of 20 and 50 kilometres.

Rawat's emergence as a competitive racewalker drew attention in the Indian athletics community in part because of the contrast between his humble origins and the level of international competition he eventually attained. His story was highlighted by Indian sports media as an example of perseverance within a system that often lacks the infrastructure to identify and nurture athletic talent from rural and economically disadvantaged populations.

Career

Early Competitive Career

Rawat developed his racewalking abilities and entered competitive athletics, eventually securing employment with the Uttarakhand State Police, which provided a degree of financial stability and institutional support for his training and competition schedule. Employment with state police forces is a common pathway for Indian athletes, as various state and central police organisations maintain sports quotas that allow athletes to train while holding government positions.

Over the course of his competitive career, Rawat established himself in both the 20 kilometre and 50 kilometre racewalking events. He became a member of the Indian racewalking squad and competed in domestic championships, including the Indian Race Walking Championships and the Indian Police Championships. At the 2017 Indian Police Championships held in Dehradun, and the 2018 Indian Race Walking Championships held in New Delhi, Rawat achieved medal-winning performances that underscored his standing as one of India's competitive racewalkers.

2015 IAAF Race Walking Challenge and World Championships

The year 2015 marked a significant period in Rawat's international career. In April 2015, he competed in an IAAF Race Walking Challenge event—the 24th Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior in Portugal—where he completed the 20 kilometre race in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 50 seconds. The IAAF Race Walking Challenge is a series of permit meetings organised by World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations) that brings together elite racewalkers from around the world, and participation in such events represented a notable step in Rawat's progression on the international stage.

Later in 2015, Rawat competed in the 50 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, held in Beijing, China. The World Championships represent one of the highest levels of competition in track and field athletics, second only to the Olympic Games. Rawat's participation in Beijing placed him among the world's top racewalkers and demonstrated his capacity to compete at the elite level in the gruelling 50 kilometre distance, an event that demands exceptional endurance, technical discipline, and mental fortitude over a course that typically takes competitors more than four hours to complete.

2016 Summer Olympics

Rawat qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he competed in the men's 20 kilometre race walk event. Qualification for the Olympic Games represented the pinnacle of Rawat's athletic career to that point and was a remarkable achievement given his background as a landless labourer from a remote district in Uttarakhand.

The men's 20 kilometre race walk at the Rio Olympics was held on 12 August 2016 and featured a field of elite racewalkers from across the globe. Rawat's participation at the Games was covered by Indian media as part of a broader narrative about athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds who had overcome significant socioeconomic barriers to represent their country at the highest level of international sport.

Prior to the Olympics, media reports highlighted the challenges Rawat had faced in his journey, including the financial hardships of his early life and the limited institutional support available to racewalkers in India compared to athletes in more high-profile sports such as cricket. The Times of India reported on Rawat's Olympic aspirations, noting his determination and the support he had received through the GoSports Foundation.

Domestic Championships and Continued Competition

Following the 2016 Olympics, Rawat continued to compete in both domestic and international racewalking events. He participated in the Indian Police Championships held in Dehradun in 2017 and the Indian Race Walking Championships held in New Delhi in 2018, achieving medal-winning results at both events.

Rawat's profile on World Athletics (formerly IAAF) documented his continued activity in the sport, listing his competition history and personal bests across the 20 kilometre and 50 kilometre distances.

Personal Life

Manish Singh Rawat is from Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. He comes from a family of landless agricultural labourers and worked as a waiter before establishing himself in competitive athletics. He is employed by the Uttarakhand State Police, which provides him with a stable income and institutional support for his athletics career.

Rawat has been a beneficiary of the GoSports Foundation's Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme, an initiative that provides financial support, mentorship, and developmental assistance to promising Indian athletes. The programme, named after the former Indian cricket captain, aims to help athletes from various disciplines achieve their competitive potential by addressing gaps in funding, coaching, and access to competition opportunities. Rawat's inclusion in the programme reflected recognition of both his athletic talent and the socioeconomic challenges he faced in pursuing his sporting career.

Recognition

Rawat's athletic achievements and personal story have been the subject of coverage in Indian sports media. Sportskeeda published a feature on his career that highlighted the obstacles he overcame as a landless labourer to compete at the international level, describing his story as one that "almost missed" wider recognition. The Times of India covered his Olympic qualification and preparations for the 2016 Rio Games, focusing on his ambitions and the support structures that had assisted his development.

His profile has been maintained on the official websites of World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee, documenting his participation in major international competitions including the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rawat earned medals at the Indian Race Walking Championships in New Delhi in 2018 and the Indian Police Championships in Dehradun in 2017, establishing his standing within the domestic racewalking circuit.

The GoSports Foundation's support of Rawat through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme brought additional attention to his career, as the programme is designed to spotlight athletes from non-mainstream sports who demonstrate both competitive potential and personal resilience.

Legacy

Manish Singh Rawat's career is notable within the context of Indian athletics for several reasons. His emergence from extreme economic disadvantage—as a landless labourer and waiter from a remote Himalayan district—to compete at the Olympic Games and World Championships illustrates both the potential and the systemic challenges of Indian sport. Racewalking, unlike cricket or field hockey, receives limited public attention and commercial support in India, and athletes in the discipline often train with minimal resources and institutional backing.

Rawat's story has been cited in Indian media discussions about the need for broader talent identification and development systems that can reach athletes in rural and economically disadvantaged communities. His career trajectory, from agricultural labour to Olympic competition, underscores the role that programmes such as the GoSports Foundation's athlete mentorship initiative and police sports quotas can play in providing pathways for talented individuals who might otherwise lack access to competitive athletics.

His participation in the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro contributed to India's presence in racewalking on the world stage during a period when the country was developing a growing cohort of competitive racewalkers. Indian racewalking has since produced additional athletes who have achieved notable results in international competition, and Rawat's generation of competitors helped lay groundwork for the discipline's continued development in the country.