Videos of race walker Nitin Gupta, in which he is seen seemingly celebrating early in the home straight, became viral content after he was beaten to the gold medal by 0.01 seconds. China’s Zhu Ninghao pipped him at the Asian Under-18 Athletics Championships in Qatif, Saudi Arabia.
‘Childish’, ‘stupidity’ a ‘lesson’ and ‘turtle and rabbit story’ were some of the stinging comments on social media after the race video showed him raising his hands to hip height briefly with about 40 metres remaining in the race.
Nitin, a 17-year-old Army Boys Sports Company cadet, noticed he had become troll-worthy at the end of the day. Taking on the detractors is not on his mind but he is keen to give his side of the story about the ‘premature celebrations’ in the 5000-metre final.
“I had just blanked out. It was my first international competition, the sun was baking hot, there was a strong gust of wind pushing us backwards during the race, I was thirsty and the Chinese athlete was pushing me to the limit. I don’t remember the final 100 metres. Mother promise. Everyone is saying I celebrated too early, but that is not really true because I knew there was a Chinese walker just beside me. So why would I celebrate and disturb my rhythm? Towards the end I don’t know what happened,” Nitin told The Indian Express.
So close, yet so far!
17-year-old Nitin Gupta from Uttar Pradesh was on the verge of clinching gold in the boys’ U18 5000m racewalk at the Asian U18 Athletics Championships—but a premature celebration in the final 50m cost him dearly. He was edged out by just 0.01s by China’s… pic.twitter.com/GJtAHV8Fxz
— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) April 16, 2025
He regrets letting the opportunity go — of winning the gold and hearing the Indian national anthem play at the Prince Nayef Sports City. He also wanted to change the perception of Indian walkers getting disqualified at international events.
“There is a general belief that India’s walkers try and run at overseas competitions and our reputation is not great. I wanted to prove that Indian walkers can win gold. I regret that I couldn’t prove critics wrong. But whatever happened was my mistake,” Nitin said.
The teenager is a known name in race-walking circles. Last month at the National Youth Athletics Championships in Patna, he lowered the Under-18 national record to 19:24.48, a quicker timing compared to his 20:21.51 in Qatif on Friday. He hopes that in a few days, people will remember him more for the silver medal.
“People are not focusing on what I did well. But I am not complaining. In a few days, hopefully, they will forget about why I was trolled. Every other day something new goes viral on social media and Instagram. Yesterday, there was a race video featuring me. What I can promise is that I will work harder, improve my technique further and win gold the next time I represent India. I am thankful that my coach understood me,” Nitin added.
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Basant Bahadur Rana, the 50km race walker and a 2012 London Olympian who is Nitin’s coach, wants to go easy on his ward. “I would put it down to inexperience. When I spoke to him after the race he was crying and told me he didn’t know what he was doing towards the end of the race. He’s learnt his lesson. During races in India, he has a big lead but international competition is of a higher standard. He missed the gold medal but is one of the most talented race walkers in the country,” Rana said.
Army uniform dreams
Nitin, from Unnao, didn’t dream of being an athlete but had ambitions of joining the army. He took up running to clear the 1.6-kilometre physical fitness test. One of his friends, who knew of race walkers in the army, suggested he make a switch. A local coach Amir Khan agreed to train Nitin. A year later, in November 2023, Nitin appeared for trials of the Boys Sports Company of the Madras Regimental Centre and was selected as a cadet.
Being part of the army set-up changed Nitin’s fortunes — professional training, diet, accommodation, and sports science were taken care of. The son of a welder, Nitin, felt he could aim big.
“My father Dinesh works as a welder and so does my older brother Atul. Work took them to Ludhiana. My mother Sanju used to stay with me in a rented house in Unnao but once I was selected to the Boys Company she too moved to Ludhiana. She doesn’t know how to operate a phone so letting her stay alone was not an option,” Nitin said.
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Back-breaking work
Being from an underprivileged family, Nitin had to take up odd jobs, the first of which was working in a scrap factory when he was in Class 7. “Working at the scrap factory was backbreaking. After that I worked as a labourer, helping in the tiling of roofs and such jobs. Finally, I got a good break when I got the job of cleaning at a temple in Unnao.”
Nitin used to work at the temple from 8 am to 12 noon, before that at 4 am he would cycle six kilometres to a training ground. In the evening, he would train again. Nitin never told his parents he worked in a scrap factory or as a daily wager.
“I didn’t want my parents to feel bad and relatives will also get to know. Before I started working at the temple I only told them I was making money doing odd jobs. I never took money from them because I knew there was hardly any money. I didn’t burden my parents but I hope they are proud of me despite people trolling me because of the race video.”
