Vadodara girl wins gold, glory for India

Lakshita Shandilya, 18, first came into limelight last year when she won two silver medals at ISF World School Gymnasiad in France.

On Wednesday, the middle-distance runner showed that she has taken another big step in the world of athletics, winning the gold medal in 1500m in the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championship in South Korea.

Daughter of a taxi driver, Vinod, the Vadodara girl has battled financial constraints to keep her dream on track.

Vinod’s income is barely enough to make ends meet. Raising funds for his talented daughter’s training has been a huge challenge.

Lakshita took off the start line with confidence and was lagging for a few seconds in the second position, but soon overtook the girl ahead of her and sprinted past the finish line.

Lakshita considers former athlete P T Usha as her idol.