Journey from daily wage labourer to Asian Games medalist: Inspiring tale of Ram Baboo
Ram Baboo's route to the Asian Games in Hangzhou was not simple; it involved many struggles and sacrifices.
Baboo’s story was shared by IFS Praveen Kaswan on his X account, and it went viral. This is a narrative of unwavering strength and persistence in the face of a difficult and unfair existence, for those moments when you feel defeated and demotivated. The subject of this narrative is Ram Baboo, a manual laborer who surmounted all odds to take home a gold in the Asian Games in 2023.
In a recent 35 km race walk, Ram Baboo brought home the bronze medal for India. In addition to setting a new national record while jogging, he inspired everyone. His route to the Asian Games in Hangzhou was not simple; it involved many struggles and sacrifices.
At the Gujarati IIT Gandhinagar athletic track, he broke the individual national record in 2022 in 2:36:34. The runner, however, has faced difficult situations along the way to becoming a long-distance runner. Ram, who was born in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) hamlet of Bahura, moved to Benaras to pursue his goal. To pay for his training, lodging, and food costs, he started working as a server in a nearby restaurant. Because of his schedule, he had to workout early in the morning from 4 to 8 before heading to work.
Ram Baboo: A symbol of humankind’s unwavering will
Ram Baboo is from the outlying hamlet of Bauar in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. He started out running marathons before switching to race walking and winning at the national level. He began working as a waiter and courier packager in Varanasi to pay for his expensive studies.
Ram Baboo, an Asian Games bronze medalist in race walking, is the son of a daily wage laborer from a destitute Uttar Pradesh town. His rise from obscurity to renown is an inspiring tale of a strong-willed individual determining his own fate. Along with Manju Rani, Baboo earned a mixed team bronze medal in the 35km race walk at the Asian Games.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Baboo assisted his father with road building under the MGNREGA program since his family was struggling financially. “I have done everything possible in my life so far, from working as a waiter in Varanasi to digging up pits along with my father for road construction under MGNREGA scheme at our village,” Baboo, 24, said PTI.
Due to his father’s financial struggles during the pandemic, Baboo joined him in manual labor under the MNREGA program, where they both received daily payments of 300 rupees.
“After Covid, I traveled to Bhopal and trained under coach Surender Paul with a fantastic group. I’ve seen so much in life that I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s either do or die for me. Last year, when I competed in the national race walking championships, I worked so hard that I was convinced I would beat the record.
IFS Kaswan stated, “He is Ram Baboo, who earlier worked as an MGNREGA laborer and waiter, sharing Baboo’s tale on X. He received a bronze medal today in the mixed team 35km race walk at the #AsianGames. Talk about tenacity and willpower.
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