Asha Roy

Asha Roy (born 5 January 1990) is an Indian professional sprinter who won the silver medal for 200m in the Asian Track and Field at the 20th Asian Athletics Championships in Pune on 7 July 2013. Roy clocked 11.85 seconds in a 100-meter dash at the 51st National Open Athletics Championships, held at the Yuva Bharti Krirangan, Kolkata in 2011. Roy's record was just short of the national record of 11.38 seconds, which was set by Rachita Mistry in Thiruvananthapuram in 2000. Roy also ran the fastest 200-meter dash, clocking the tape at 24.36 seconds and anchored Bengal's 4 × 100 m relay team, which won the silver with a timing of 47.49 seconds at the Championships.

Early life Roy was born in Ghanshyampur, a village in the Hooghly district of the Indian State of West Bengal, on 5 January 1990, to Bholanath Roy, a door-to-door vegetable-seller, and Bulu Roy, a homemaker. Roy is the third among four daughters of Bholanath Roy and Bulu Roy. The Roy family lives in abject poverty and the sprinter usually was only able to eat two meals a day, with little attention to the kind of nutrition the top athletes need.

Career Roy trained under a coach Probir Chandra, who had first spotted Roy when she finished first at a school meet as a student of the third grade. Coach Chandra approached Roy's father to discuss her talent and took the full responsibility for her training. Roy became a member of the Bengal Athletic Team when she was in the fifth grade and she participated in the Nationals when she was in the sixth grade.

2015: Struggles and Injuries Under the guidance of the Chief national coach in the sprinting, Tarun Saha, Asha Roy had been training to participate in Rio Olympics in the 200-meter race and represent the Railways. Roy was in the national preparatory camp for the Rio Olympics in Thiruvananthapuram when her waist injury became worse and she could no longer continue to train. Roy's condition began deteriorating after she began training at the Kolkata SAL campus, leading to her inability to perform at the Rio Olympics.