Who Is NCAA Participant Parvej Khan - All You Need To Know About Haryana-Born Track Athlete

India-born Parvej Khan could be rewriting the history books when he will step on to the track at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, March 9. The 19-year-old is set to become the first-ever Indian track athlete to compete the NCAA championship. (More Sports News) (More Sports News)

However, coming from humble backgrounds, Khan's story is one for the ages. Parvej was born in Haryana's Mewat district in Chahalka village, about 50 kms from south of New Delhi. His father, Nafees Ali grew wheat and cattle fodder on the five acres of land.

In his teens, Khan's talent was such that he would beat 17 and 18-year-olds in race. After winning a few local races, he left his village for brighter prospects. At 13, he went to New Delhi to fulfill his dream.

“Someone told me that in Delhi there was a big stadium where I could train on a synthetic track and under a proper coach. I told my parents, took a bus and came to Delhi. I had an uncle who drove a taxi in Delhi so I stayed with him and started training at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,” Khan was quoted in The Sportstar.

After a year there, Khan shifted base to Bhopal to train at Sports Authority Of India (SAI) wherein he would go on to train under coach Anupama Srivastava.

The youngster won gold in 800m at the U-16 nationals in Mangalgiri in 2019 and then took bronze in the U-18 Khelo India Games in 2020. He then won his career's first senior race - the 1500m at the Open National Championships in Warrangal in 2021.

However, Khan's career really took off when he clinched gold in the 1500m at the National Games in 2022 wherein he clocked 3.40.89 at Gandhinagar.

In early 2023, he was part of an Indian contingent that travelled to the USA's Olympic training centre in Colarado. A hairline fracture really hampered his training but also opened a path towards collegiate career.

“After my injury, I was thinking about my future and how I could get better. We had excellent facilities at the Olympic training institute in Colorado. I also saw that it was the same facilities that college students were using. I knew that if I had to develop as a runner, I had to train in the USA. One of my Instagram friends from Morocco was part of a college team. He suggested I also apply to one of the colleges here and even put me through to one of the coaches who he said was looking for international runners,” Khan said in an interview to The Sportstar.

Khan will be seen competing at the higly competitive division 1 of the NCAA.

Speaking on NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), it is a member-led organisation that was founded in 1906 to regulate the rules of college sport and protect young athletes.

Among the three NCAA divisions, Division I schools generally have the biggest student bodies, manage the largest athletics budgets and offer the highest number of athletics scholarships. Division II provides growth opportunities through academic achievement, learning in high-level athletics competition and a focus on service to the community.

The Division III experience offers participation in a competitive athletics environment that pushes college athletes to excel on the field and build upon their potential by tackling new challenges across campus.

Last year, Khan suffered a toe fracture but now, the young India is looking forward to start afresh in the 1500m category.

“It’s great that I’m doing well in the indoor competition, but my actual goal is to do well at outdoor competitions. I can’t say I’m not thinking about the Olympics. I can either qualify by meeting the automatic qualification standard (3.33.50) or through my ranking. I will try my best to qualify directly but I also think that there are a lot of points on offer at the outdoor NCAA championships. If I do well in that competition, it could really improve my chances of qualification,” Khan was quoted in The Sportstar.

Notable Indian track and field athletes have competed at the NCAA championships such Tejaswin Shankar, Mohinder Singh Gill and Vikas Gowda - and have won gold in the high jump, triple jump and discus throw, respectively. Given Khan's hard work and determination, the Haryana-born could surely be another name in the offing.