On December 29th last year, at the SAI Sports Training Centre in Shillong, Bethlyn Grace Makary’s coach suddenly saw the potential in the young athlete to become a racewalker. Interestingly, Bethlyn herself knew almost nothing about the event, let alone its technical nuances.
Until last year, the young athlete from Meghalaya competed as a middle- and long-distance runner. But in early 2026, she was asked to change her sport, testing both her physical and mental strength.
This transition proved extremely challenging for Bethlyn, who hails from the Khasi tribe. The first few weeks were extremely difficult, as she struggled to adapt to the unfamiliar technique of racewalking and endured intense body pain. This led to many sleepless nights and bouts of self-doubt.
However, the support of her coach and family gave her the strength to move forward. As the youngest of three siblings and the only daughter, Bethleen accepted the challenge and dedicated herself completely to learning the technical nuances of the sport. She then headed to Jagdalpur to participate in the first edition of the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026.
She told SAI Media, “The first two weeks were really tough, especially for my body. The technical nuances of race-walking are completely different from middle- or long-distance running, so it took me time to understand it. There were sleepless nights, moments of panic, and ultimately, I started doubting whether my decision was right.”
But on Wednesday, those struggles paid off handsomely. Bethleen won the bronze medal in the women’s race-walking event with a time of 1:05:18. She finished third behind Jharkhand’s Neha Xalxo (1:04:02) and Odisha’s Elish Ekka (1:04:59).
Moments after winning the medal, the athlete credited her coach and family. She said, “My coach and family supported me completely, constantly motivating me to keep going. I decided to give it a try, and here I am today. I still have room for improvement, but this was exactly the start I needed.”
She added, “The bronze medal at the Khelo India Tribal Games is a testament to my hard work, my belief, and the support of my coaches and family, and it boosts my confidence to pursue this sport.”
Bethleen, a second-year BA student at Shillong College, is extremely proud of being the only race walker from Meghalaya to win a medal at the national level.
“There are no race walkers from Meghalaya,” she said with a smile, “and I believe my Khelo India medal will encourage young people to take up this sport professionally. I’m also starting to like it.”
