Long distance great Hari Chand, a two-time Olympian and a double Asian Games gold medallist, passed away in Jalandhar on Sunday. He was 69.
Chand won the 5000 and 10,000m gold at the 1978 Bangkok Asiad and also the 10,000m title at the 1975 Asian Championships in Seoul.
Chand, who hailed from Ghorewaha village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur District, made waves with his barefoot running and broke the 10,000m National record at the 1976 Montreal Olympics which stood for 32 years before falling to Surendra Singh. He was eighth in his heats in Montreal, clocking 28:48.72s.
Hari Chand at the Bangkok Games in 1978. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
And in the next Olympics, in Moscow 1980, he was 10th in the 10,000m heats and finished 31st in the marathon which had 74 runners.
Hari Chand, second right, in the 4th lap of the 5000m at the Bangkok Asiad. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
“Hari Chand, my teammate in the 1980 Olympic Games, is a legend of Indian sport. It is a tribute to his determination that he was able to set a National record in the Olympic Games,” said Adille Sumariwalla, president of the Athletics Federation of India. “He knew that getting a place in the 15-man final was going to be tough and pushed himself, despite running barefoot, to get the time he did.
“Along with Shivnath Singh, he played a big role in sustaining the popularity of distance running,” he added.
