Basanta Bahadur Rana is an Indian athlete prominent in the field of race walking. At the 2012 Summer Olympics organized in London, he represented the country in 50 kilometres race walk event. Basanta Bahadur Rana is also credited as the first Indian who represented India in the 50 kilometres walk at Olympics. He created a new national record in this event with timing of 3:56:48 which he made by beating the record of his mentor Gurdev Singh. Basanta Bahadur Rana was born on 18th January 1984 in a hamlet, situated north of Kathmandu, Nepal.
In 2002 he joined the Indian Army and presently serves at the Gorkha Regiment. He developed and excelled in his athletic skills after joining the Indian Army which made him a natural athlete. Formerly he played football with the Indian army but following an ankle injury in the year 2006 he had to quit football and venture into the field of race walking. In the year 2008 Basanta Bahadur Rana won gold at the Indian Grand Prix where he bagged bronze in the same event for the year 2011.
From his very fist competition in race walking, Basanta Bahadur Rana exhibited his natural affinity for the game. Soon he was spotted by Gurdev Singh, the former Indian champion and coach, and the latter began training him for the 2012 Olympics. Basanta Bahadur Rana struggled a lot before competing in Olympics. Owing to his meagre sepoy salary he could not afford proper shoes for the event. However following the media highlight, he received some help with which he bought the shoes.
In May 2012, Basanta Bahadur Rana participated in at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia and thus qualified for the Olympics. He qualified with a B qualifying standard. Subsequently he received training from Gurdev Singh, the former national record holder. In the Olympics, Basanta Bahadur Rana ranked 36th and established a new national record of 3:56:48. With this record he also broke the previous national record of 4:16:22 created by his mentor Gurdev Singh in the year 2005 in Hyderabad. Ventures of Basanta Bahadur Rana are supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company.
