Exclusive: Target was always to win a medal at Asian Games - Harmilan Bains reflects on epic journey

The Indian athletes were seen in astonishing form during the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou as they helped India surpass the 100-medal tally. A mixture of youth and experience, the athletics team was a prime contributor to India’s success as the country ended with 107 medals. One big contributor to that tally was Punjab’s queen athlete Harmilan Bains. She bagged two silver medals at the continental tournament in 800m and 1500m as she helped the Indian flag fly high at the Asian Games. She spoke exclusively to WION on Wednesday (Oct 18) to reflect on her Asian Games 2023 journey.

Harmilan opens on Asian Games journey

“The target was always to win the gold medal at the Asian Games, I had prepared for this for the last few months. My team has been helping me physically and psychologically to get prepared for the Asian Games where we have reached the goal. Although I missed out on the gold, I am happy to see myself returning with two silver medals,” Harmilan said in an exclusive conversation with WION.

Interestingly, Harmilan’s mother Madhuri Singh won a silver medal in the 2002 Busan Asian Games in 800m. She has now grabbed her own piece of medal having bagged a brace in Hangzhou. The Indian athletics team won 29 medals with six gold, 14 silver, and nine bronze medals – the most in any single discipline. 

“Yes, it was a dream to replicate my mother’s dream when she won the silver in the same discipline in Busan. It is always too hard to live on the expectations and replicate your parent's success, but I am proud of the achievement. I remember when I was four years old, my mom put her silver medal around my neck and that is where my journey started. Now I have completed a full circle to make their dream come true to win an Asian Games medal,” Harmilan added.

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Olympics remain a long-term target

She also opened up on her Olympic journey where she is yet to book her tickets having earlier missed out on qualification. With the Paris Olympics 10 months away, Harmilan’s target would be to secure qualification for the big event as she now targets a successful run in the next few months to come. 

“Olympic qualification will always remain the aim; I am pushing for the Paris Olympic qualification having missed by four seconds in August. So to just get there and aim for a tournament like this and carry the nation’s flag has always been a dream for me. I get around my fellow athletes who have been there and breached success, I keep speaking to Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sabale, who have boosted my confidence on multiple fronts,” Harmilan concluded.

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