Tahura Khatun is the first athlete from West Bengal to qualify for the World U20 Athletics Championships
The 19-year-old won gold in the women's 4x400m relay at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships
Tahura represents India at Commonwealth Games 2026 with dreams of becoming an Olympic champion
From running barefoot through the fields of rural West Bengal to earning a place among India's brightest young track stars, Tahura Khatun has scripted one of Indian athletics' most inspiring stories.
The 19-year-old quarter-miler grabbed national attention after helping India win gold in the women's 4x400m relay at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships, a performance that also made her the first athlete from West Bengal to qualify for the World U20 Athletics Championships.
Now representing India at the Commonwealth Games 2026, Tahura is determined to prove that her rise is only the beginning. Her long-term ambition is even bigger, winning an Olympic gold medal for India.
Tahura Khatun Factfile
Full Name: Tahura Khatun
Date of Birth: March 6, 2007
Age: 19
Birthplace: Phulbari village, Bhangar, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal
Country: India
Sport: Athletics
Discipline: 400m, 4x400m Relay
Training Base: Sports Authority of India (SAI), Eastern Centre, Kolkata
Coaches: Sanjoy Ghosh and Jaspal Singh Pannu
Personal Best (400m): 53.93 seconds
Major Achievement: Asian U20 Championships 2026 women's 4x400m relay gold medallist
Historic Milestone: First athlete from West Bengal to qualify for the World U20 Athletics Championships
Tahura Khatun At Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games 2026 mark Tahura Khatun's biggest multi-sport event yet and another milestone in her rapidly rising career. Fresh from winning relay gold at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, Tahura arrives in Glasgow as one of India's most promising young sprinters.
Her performances over the past year, including a 53.93-second personal best in the 400m and a state meet record, have established her as a key member of India's relay programme.
Tahura's journey has been anything but easy. Raised in a farming family in rural West Bengal, she initially played football and cricket before discovering athletics.
Financial struggles once threatened to end her sporting dreams, but admission into the Sports Authority of India Eastern Centre transformed her career, providing coaching, nutrition and facilities that helped unlock her potential.
Despite becoming an Asian champion, Tahura revealed she returned home without anyone waiting to receive her at the airport. Rather than dwell on the disappointment, she turned it into motivation.
"When I returned after the Asian U20, there was no one to receive me at the airport. I aim to change that by winning medals at the world level," Tahura said on the eve of her departure for what will be the biggest event of her career so far.
She now hopes her performances on the international stage will inspire more youngsters from West Bengal to take up athletics and one day fulfil her biggest dream of becoming an Olympic champion.
