Ankita Dhyani: Steeplechase Olympian Athlete

Ankita Dhyani is an Indian distance runner whose journey from an isolated Himalayan village to the Paris Olympics has made her one of the most closely watched names in Indian athletics. Known for her fearless racing style and a habit of chasing down whoever is ahead of her, she has become the face of India's rising steeplechase programme, culminating in a national record that had stood for years.

Ankita Dhyani was born on 5 February 2002 in Maroda, a small village in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, situated at a high altitude of around 1,400 metres. One of four children of a farmer, she grew up in a village where girls simply did not play sports – there was no tradition, no facilities, and no expectation that she would take up athletics seriously.

What she did have was the mountain terrain itself. Dhyani began running purely for fun, training alongside local boys who were preparing for Indian Army recruitment trials, covering the same demanding distances they did. No athlete had ever emerged from the isolated village of Maroda before her – even reaching the nearest town, Rudraprayag, meant an eight hour journey.

In 2017, on the encouragement of a school teacher who had spotted her natural talent, Dhyani travelled to give a trial for admission into a sports hostel in Rudraprayag – the only realistic pathway for her to pursue running seriously. She earned her place, and with access to proper facilities and structured training for the first time, her progress accelerated quickly.

Dhyani's rise through India's junior athletics ranks was rapid. Originally excelling as a sprinter, she claimed gold in the 200m at the Youth Nationals before transitioning to middle and long distance events, where her natural endurance and a ferocious closing kick set her apart.

• 2019 & 2020 Khelo India Youth Games: Won double gold across the 1500m and longer distance events in successive editions.
• 2021 Federation Cup Junior U-20 Championships (Sangrur): Gold in both the 1500m and 5000m.
• 2021 Junior National Championships (Guwahati): Set a Junior National Record in the 5000m with a time of 16:21.19.
• 2021 World U-20 Championships (Nairobi, Kenya): Competed in the 1500m and 5000m on the international junior stage.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when national training camps shut down, Dhyani stayed in touch with her coach over WhatsApp and trained alone in Maroda for seven months – returning fitter, and for the first time, running ahead of the very boys she once trained alongside.

Dhyani has been coached by Pratibha Toppo since 2019, following her selection to train at the National Centre of Excellence in Bhopal after her breakout performance at the Khelo India Youth Games. Toppo has described her as a naturally gifted, aggressive trainer – someone who thrives on being pushed and who arrived already accustomed to high-altitude training from her years running in Uttarakhand.

Under Toppo's guidance, Dhyani gradually shifted her focus toward the steeplechase, a discipline that combines distance running with hurdling and water-jump obstacles. It proved to be a smart tactical move: fewer Asian athletes specialise in the steeplechase compared to the fiercely competitive 5000m, giving India's newest star a clearer path to international podiums.

Dhyani's senior international career gathered pace from 2023 onward. She won a bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, and finished fifth in the 5000m at the 2022 Asian Games (held in Hangzhou in 2023) with a personal best of 15:33.03. In February 2024, she claimed a silver medal in the women's 3000m at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, clocking 9:26.22.

Dhyani qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 5000m, and received a late entry into the 3000m steeplechase through the world rankings quota – making her one of the few Indian athletes to compete in two individual track events at the same Games. She clocked a season's best 15:10.58 in the 5000m heats, finishing 20th in her heat and 40th overall, and followed it with a season's best 9:33.39 in the steeplechase, finishing 8th in her heat. She did not advance to the finals in either event, but the experience of competing on the Olympic stage in two disciplines marked a significant milestone in her career.

2025 proved to be Dhyani's most successful year yet. She finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, before claiming a silver medal in the same event at the FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, with a personal best of 9:31.99. Domestically, she underlined her dominance by winning gold in both the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase at the Uttarakhand National Games.

She capped her season by representing India at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, finishing 11th in her 3000m steeplechase heat with a time of 10:03.22.

The defining moment of Dhyani's career so far came on 14 August 2025, at the Grand Slam Jerusalem meet in Israel, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level event. Dhyani won the women's 2000m steeplechase in 6 minutes and 13.92 seconds, breaking the previous Indian national record of 6:14.38 held by fellow steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary. She defeated Israel's Adva Cohen (6:15.20) and Denmark's Juliane Hvid (6:17.80), who finished second and third respectively.

The record-breaking run was also significant for India's broader steeplechase programme, strengthening Dhyani's world ranking ahead of the 3000m steeplechase at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Ankita Dhyani's rise from an isolated village with no history of women in sport to an Olympian and national record holder carries significance well beyond her medal tally.

She is widely regarded as:

• The current national record holder in the women's 2000m steeplechase
• One of only a handful of Indian athletes to compete in two individual track events at a single Olympic Games
• A pioneer helping build India's presence in the steeplechase, a discipline historically dominated by European and East African athletes
• An inspiration for young girls in Uttarakhand's remote hill villages, proving that talent can emerge from anywhere given the right opportunity

Ankita Dhyani’s success highlights Uttarakhand’s growing athletics legacy, with athletes like Mansi Negi also making their mark in race walking at the national and international level.

With the next World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics all on the horizon, Ankita Dhyani's story looks far from finished – and her best chapters may still be ahead of her.