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NEW DELHI — A son of a farmer from Haryana, Parvej Khan, who clinched the men's 1500m title at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships 2024, a major collegiate athletics event held in Louisiana, USA, expressed his aspiration to represent India in the Olympic Games but acknowledged the necessity of meeting the qualification standard.
Hailing from Chahalka, a village in Haryana's Mewat district, Parvej is in the USA on a scholarship with the University of Florida.
On Saturday, he clocked 3 minutes and 42.73 seconds to win the race at the LSU Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge. His personal best is 3:38.76, achieved in California last month.
After his win, the 19-year-old told the media, "Yeah, representing India in the Olympics is on my mind. But it's really hard to qualify for Paris as I am really far behind the qualification, but I am trying to give my 100% and do my job every day. People trust me so I am doing good day by day to execute my plans well and I hope I get an Olympics standard."
Later in the day, Parvej participated in the 800m race, securing third place with a time of 1:46.80, just seven-tenths shy of his personal best set back in March in Florida.
Parvej is a National Games 2022 champion in the 1500m. He had shattered a 28-year-old Games record in the process.