Basha was part of the Indian boys medley relay team that secured the silver medal, clocking . Other three runners of the relay team were: Abhay Singh, Charan and Navpreet Singh.

Basha, also a cadet of Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics HPC, qualified for the boys 100m final where he finished eighth and last with a time of 11.04 seconds. Earlier in the semifinal, he finished fifth with much better time of 10.95 seconds.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated Hansda on his achievement at the Asian level. “He is an inspiring example for other athletes. Inspite of lot of challenges in his personal life, Bapi has been able to achieve this feat. I wish Bapi, the coaches and the entire team of the Odisha Reliance Foundation HPC the very best,” he said.

Bapi, a native of Basta in Balasore, recently won gold at the 18th National Youth Championship clocking 51.90 seconds. With this timing, he was ranked World No 1 in under 18 years age category and also qualified for Asian Youth Athletics Championship. Chief Minister Patnaik had recently felicitated Hansda with a cash award of Rs 25 Lakhs for his feat at the Nationals.

Speaking about the Youth Asian performance of Hansda, Odisha Reliance HPC Head Coach Martin Owens said, “Bapi ran a brave race. He was a bit nervous before the race because he had finished third yesterday in the heats due to which he was assigned lane 8. I call it a gutsy effort by him today because he was almost running blind in lane eight, he was a little behind midway but made a brilliant finish. Considering this is only his fifth attempt in the 400m hurdles, it is a fantastic achievement and the lad has clocked his personal best.”

The Head Coach is optimistic about prospects of Hansda in the upcoming events too. He will next be vying for honours in the Commonwealth Championships in August. “We will be looking at taking him for the Commonwealth Championships in August and then prepare for the Junior World Championships next year. This kid has a lot of potential,” added Martin.
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TOP: Bapi Hansda celebrates after winning the 400m hurdles silver medal at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Tashkent on 30 April 2023.
RIGHT: Mohammad Reyan Basha jubilates after winning medley relay silver medal at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Tashkent on 30 April 2023.