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Suraj Panwar, a 23-year-old race walker, is preparing for a unique challenge at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Despite being a 20km race walker, he will be competing in the inaugural marathon race walk mixed relay event, where he will team up with Priyanka Goswami.Panwar's journey to the Olympics has been marked by both adversity and triumph. Born into a family of forest guards, he lost his father at a young age when he was killed while preventing illegal logging. Raised by his single mother, Poonam, who worked at a forest department nursery, Panwar's sporting ambitions were nurtured from an early age.The marathon race walk mixed relay event, which will make its Olympic debut in Paris, presents a new challenge for Panwar. He will cover a total of 22.195km in two legs, with a break in between. The combined time of both athletes will determine the result.Panwar is currently training under Russian coach Tatiana Sibileva and is simulating the race conditions by taking breaks after completing 12.195km. He is not practicing with Goswami, who is training abroad, but will meet her in Paris before the event.Despite the challenges, Panwar is determined to give his best. He qualified for the Olympics through the world ranking quota in the 20km event but was later selected for the mixed relay. "It was a bit of a surprise," he said. "But I continued my training and it is a dream come true to be an Olympian."Panwar's mother, Poonam, has been his constant source of inspiration. "She told me to focus on my game and not on other things," he said. "I am keeping my TOPS inclusion a secret from her until I start getting the allowance. She will be very happy."With the support of his mother and the guidance of his coach, Panwar is ready to embrace the challenges of the Paris Olympics and make his mark on the world stage.

Priyanka Goswami and Akshdeep Singh, India's national record holders in women's and men's 20km race walk, respectively, have secured an Olympic berth for India in the newly introduced marathon race walk mixed relay. The duo finished 18th at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday, earning one of the 22 Paris Olympics spots available.The mixed event, which will make its Olympic debut this summer, involves male and female walkers alternating in distances of 12.195km, 10km, 10km, and 10km. Priyanka and Akshdeep clocked 3:05:03, placing them among the top 22 teams."It was a good performance considering we were doing this for the first time," said Priyanka. "We have a greater chance in this relay event at the Olympics to aim for a higher finish."Akshdeep, who set a new national record in January, and Priyanka, a 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, held their own in a world-class field. They were placed 20th around the halfway mark before moving up to 18th and remaining there at the finish.Both Indians found the stop-start format of the race challenging. "It's a new event for us," said Akshdeep. "After my first leg, I had a 45-minute break where my body had cooled down quite a bit. Now that we have experienced this, we can train accordingly and do even better at the Olympics."In addition to the mixed relay qualification, Priyanka and Akshdeep have also made the cut for the individual 20km event in Paris. Servin Sebastian produced the best finish by an Indian in the individual 20km races, placing 20th with a time of 1:21:39.