Sawan Barwal: From the Hills of Himachal to the Asian Games

For Sawan Barwal, running began almost by chance. Growing up in the hills of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, the young Sawan had no grand plan of becoming an elite athlete. He played badminton at school before a visit to a local track changed the course of his life.

In the latest episode of Reliance Foundation’s Safar Champions Ka, Sawan Barwal retraces the journey that took him from the hills of Himachal Pradesh to the international athletics stage, reflecting on his early days, his family’s sacrifices, the coaches and teachers who recognised his potential, and the support that helped him chase his dreams.

“I started badminton first. After that, I joined athletics by chance,” Sawan recalls.

At around 14, he accompanied his elder brother to the track. What started as a trial soon revealed something special. He began competing at school and district-level events, gradually making athletics his main sport.

His early potential did not go unnoticed. Coach Gopal Thakur remembers spotting Sawan during a government sports initiative, where the youngster was competing in the 1500m.

“I recognised there itself that this boy has talent and that I somehow had to get hold of him,” Thakur says.

After speaking to Sawan’s grandfather and father, Thakur discovered that athletics ran in the family too. He believed Sawan had both the natural ability and the potential to produce results with the right training.

Sawan’s school teacher also remembers him as a naturally gifted and enthusiastic sportsperson. From those early school competitions, he steadily progressed through district and national events, building himself into a long-distance runner.

The hills of Himachal became another part of his sporting foundation. Growing up and training at altitude helped Sawan develop his endurance, something that would later become central to his career.

“Altitude training mainly benefits endurance running. The longer we train, our lungs get used to working with less oxygen. When we go down, we don’t feel as much fatigue,” he explains.

But talent alone could not remove the financial challenges his family faced. With his father working as a driver and the family depending on a single earning member, supporting an athlete’s ambitions was not always easy. Joining the military eventually gave Sawan greater stability, while the support of Reliance Foundation became another major turning point.

“I joined Reliance in 2022. After that, there was a lot of support,” Sawan says.

With access to coaches, physiotherapists, sporting expertise and international exposure, his performances began to grow. His breakthrough included personal bests across distance events and an international medal at the Asian Half Marathon.

In 2024, Sawan finished third individually at the Asian Half Marathon, while India won team gold. More than the medal, however, it was the moment he first wore the India kit that stayed with him.

“The first time I wore the India kit, I was very happy. Every athlete dreams of wearing the India kit,” he says.

That dream would take him much further.

In April 2026, Sawan broke the 48-year-old Indian marathon record at the Rotterdam Marathon, clocking 2:11:58 in his marathon debut.
Months later, he arrived at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and transformed that breakthrough into history. Sawan won silver in the men’s marathon in 2:11:37, breaking his own national record and ending India’s 44-year wait for a men’s marathon medal at the Asian Games.

From a young boy following his brother to a school track in Himachal to standing on an Asian Games podium, Sawan’s journey has been built one race, one coach and one opportunity at a time.

And for an athlete who once found running almost by accident, the road has taken him farther than he could have imagined.