India’s latest 400m prospect Tushar Manna has miles to run before he rests

Tushar, who clinched gold in 400m at the U-23 National Championships, is looking to get into the sub-45-second club, with competing at the Asian Games and Olympics being his long-term goals.

 Tushar Kanti Manna (right) with coach Sahar Shah (left), will look to keep improving his timing in 400m when he starts his track season next year. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Expect plenty of attention on Tushar Kanti Manna when he begins his track season next year. Just a couple of weeks ago, the 23-year-old clocked a personal best of 45.92 seconds to win gold at the Under-23 National Championships in Patna. This was his second time breaking the 46-second barrier this year; he had already recorded a time of 45.97 seconds to claim his first national gold medal at the Open Nationals in Bangalore in August.

Tushar’s time in Patna was the second-fastest over the distance in India this year and the seventh-fastest ever run in a domestic competition, placing him 13th on the all-time list, which is topped by Muhammed Anas Yahiya (45.21). These achievements are impressive on their own, but they are even more remarkable for someone who only started seriously competing in the 400m this year.

“When I started working with Tushar in the 400m, we set two goals. One was to win the national championships, and the second was to compete at the Olympics. We’ve accomplished the first goal; now we will target the second,” says his coach, Sahar Shah.

The future certainly looks promising for Tushar, but it didn’t always seem that way when he first decided to pursue athletics.

Growing up in Delhi, Tushar, whose family hails from West Bengal’s West Medinipur district, ran track for fun at school but never took it seriously. When he wasn’t at school, he worked part-time at his father’s small jewellery kiosk in Karol Bagh market. His focus was neither on school nor on athletics.

“I was a very active kid. It wasn’t that I couldn’t learn, but I just couldn’t concentrate on my studies,” he recalls.

Despite his efforts, he struggled academically and eventually failed his Class 9 exams — twice.

“That was one of the lowest moments of my life. I had to leave my school and prepare for my Class 10 exams through the Open School system. At that time, my parents were really worried about me and my future. They didn’t know what would happen to someone who was failing all the time,” he remembers.

Blessing in disguise

Studying through Open Schooling gave Tushar something he hadn’t had before — time. “I had a lot of free time because I didn’t have to go to school. I could either sit at my father’s shop and stare at the customers, or I could seriously prepare for my athletics,” he recalls.

He chose the latter. Training under G. Krishan, a Physical Education teacher at the Delhi Tamil Education Society school, Tushar began as a long jumper and sprinter. He was a naturally fast sprinter and a powerful jumper, with a personal best of 7.20m in the long jump and 21.7 seconds in the 200m — the former earning him gold at the North Zone Junior Championships.

As his athletics career progressed, Tushar participated in selection trials for the National Centre of Excellence in Patiala in 2020. He initially joined as a sprinter but accidentally found an opportunity to pursue the 400m.

“At the time I was in the camp, there was a trial to select athletes for an international exposure tour. I had never travelled abroad for anything, and I really wanted that chance, so I tried every event I could,” he says.

Tushar competed in the 100m and 200m, but also ran his first-ever 400m race. It was then that he discovered another talent.

“Everyone was betting on how badly I would perform in the 400m because I had no experience. No one can just get up and run the 400m. But not only did I finish the race, I actually clocked a 49-second time. That earned me the opportunity to go on my first exposure tour to South Africa,” he says.

Late start to 400m

Despite his early success in the 400m, it wasn’t until 2023 that Tushar began training seriously for the event. By then, he had started working with Sahar, a coach from Delhi who was only a few years his senior.

“I initially worked with him on the 100m and 200m. But within a few months, I realised that, while he lacked the acceleration needed to be a top-class sprinter, he had excellent speed endurance. I would have him run three 150m splits, and he would clock the same time in the last split as he did in the first,” Sahar explains.

Although Tushar had basic speed and impressive speed endurance, both he and Sahar believe his greatest strength lies in his mental fortitude.

“I’m someone who won’t give up, no matter what. I treat every session as a competition and push myself hard in training. Competing is much easier for me. If you watch me train, you’ll likely see me lying nearly passed out on the track at the end of the session,” Tushar says.

While Tushar’s aptitude was clear in the quarter-mile, Sahar was cautious about making an immediate shift. “I studied 400m runners in the 44-second range, and all of them have a certain baseline speed. Speed is something you can’t coach into an athlete later, although you can coach speed endurance. So, I wanted Tushar to focus on building his speed until at least 2023,” Sahar explains.

It was only after Sahar was satisfied with how quick Tushar was that he finally transitioned him into the 400m late last year. Indeed at five feet nine inches and 76kg, Tushar still has a sprinter’s physique. Both he and his coach expect this to change in the coming months.

“I have a lot of hypertrophy weight. As per the event I’m in, I should be under 70kg,” Tushar says.

Target 44 seconds

Both Tushar and his coach are confident that, as he cuts down his weight, he will only get faster. “I was expecting there to be one more competition, either the National Games or the SAFF Championships, and I thought Tushar might clock 45.70 in that. Unfortunately, both competitions were cancelled. But I am confident that Tushar will eventually be a sub-45-second runner,” says Sahar.

Tushar’s improvement has already surprised many. When he started the season, he clocked 47.92 seconds (finishing 7th in the 400m nationals), and by the end of the season, he had reduced that to 45.92 seconds. Despite this progression, it hasn’t been as rewarding as he had hoped.

“Until last year, I only had medals at the state championships. This year, when I applied for a sports quota job with the CISF, I wasn’t selected, even though I was the fastest runner, because I didn’t have a national medal. At that time, I felt bad, but now I know bigger things are waiting for me. I’ve got a national gold, but it’s not enough. I want to get faster. I want to compete at the Asian Games in two years, and I want to have the Indian record before then,” he says.