Three foreign experts — Germany’s Ronald Weigel, Colombia’s Luis Fernando Lopez and Russia’s Tatiana Sibileva — have brought world-class experience to India, igniting hopes of a transformation in race walking. Each works independently with different athlete groups across the country, but their shared mission is clear: to raise India’s standards on the global stage.
Lopez Leads Army’s Race Walking Revival
Colombian star Luis Fernando Lopez, a 2011 World Championships gold medallist in the 20km race walk, signed a two-year contract with the Indian Army in June. Based at the Army Institute of Sports in Pune, he oversees around 20 athletes, including Olympian Servin Sebastian, who is competing at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships this weekend.
The ultimate goal is to excel at the global level.
Lopez’s influence extends to other top Army race walkers, including Ram Baboo and Sandeep Kumar in the 35km, and Priyanka Goswami, India’s lone female entry in Tokyo.
German Precision In Bengaluru
At the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru, Ronald Weigel — a double Olympic silver medallist and 1992 bronze winner — has taken charge as national race walking coach. Appointed by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) in March, he now guides Olympians Akshdeep Singh, Paramjeet Singh Bisht, Suraj Panwar and Vikash Singh.
We are learning new techniques and adapting to his schedule.
Russian Expertise Nurtures Juniors In Punjab
In Patiala, Tatiana Sibileva, former Indian national coach, has been roped in by ex-international Harminder Singh to guide a young group of race walkers at his academy. While her government contract ended after the Paris Games, Sibileva’s familiarity with Indian athletes makes her return significant, particularly for the junior crop eyeing the 2026 national championships — a selection ground for the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Past Struggles And Future Hopes
Indian race walking has had moments of promise — KT Irfan’s 10th place finish at London 2012 and Manish Singh Rawat’s 13th at Rio 2016 — but recent results have been disappointing. At the Paris Olympics, India’s walkers struggled to match personal bests, and the mixed relay team was disqualified.
Currently, Akshdeep Singh holds the men’s 20km national record (1:19:55), while Ram Baboo owns the 35km mark (2:29:56). Priyanka Goswami leads the women’s charts with national records in both 20km and 35km.
Yet, the 2025 National Championships exposed worrying trends: depleted women’s fields and high dropout rates. Only nine women completed the 20km, while just five finished the 35km.
A Long Road To Los Angeles 2028
Army coach Basant Bahadur Rana, working closely with Lopez, admitted the past few years have been underwhelming.
That’s why we have roped in foreign coaches with vast international experience. We have a four-year plan leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Lopez remains optimistic: “Young Indian athletes have potential. But outstanding results at global level mean more support from all stakeholders. The coach is just one key factor in the whole ecosystem.”
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