Janvi Rajesh Singadia is the latest athlete to make her mark on Kenya’s track scene, becoming the East African Universities 100-metre champion and winning a silver medal in the 200-metre race.
The Kenyan-Indian sprinter represents the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa), and attributes her success to hard work, dedication and discipline.
In a recent interview with SportyFM Kenya, Janvi said that her interest in running was sparked when she was in nursery school at Oshwal Academy in Nairobi.
This was when her parents noticed her talent during school sports days, and they encouraged her to continue participating in races.
“My parents actually got me into sprinting. They nurtured my talent,” she said.
For most of her early primary years, she dominated most school races.
However, things changed when she clinched third place in a race while in grade seven, and her disappointment was so great that she decided to begin training seriously.
With help from her father, she began jogging and training at home to improve her performance.
She later completed her primary and secondary education at Oshwal Academy, where she studied under the British education system and took her A-levels.
Supportive parents
In grade 12, she decided to pursue athletics professionally, and her parents were very supportive.
Her father, an engineer who was interested in bodybuilding and athletics, would adjust his work schedule to take her to Kasarani Stadium for training sessions during weekends.
He also bought her athletics equipment and worked closely with her coach to understand different training techniques.
Her mother also encouraged her. “Janvi, it’s not a must to win so long as you do better than you did before,” she said.
Sadly, her father passed away in January 2021, just four days after she turned 19.
Her father’s death marked the beginning of Janvi’s problems, as her family was plagued by financial difficulties.
Her mother was now the breadwinner, and her brother had his hands full managing the family business.
Knee problems
To compound these problems, Janvi developed knee problems which forced her to stop running temporarily and concentrate on rehabilitation exercises.
“I got to a point where I was like, ‘What am I doing here?'” she recalled.
Her coach, Gatana, remained supportive, encouraging her and helping her recover.
To support herself, Janvi decided to find employment.
She secured a job as an assistant manager at Chandarana Foodplus supermarket, working at the General Mathenge and Lavington branches.
She would finish training at Kasarani Stadium, travel to Lavington for work, and go back home at around 9 pm.
With her earnings, she bought the training equipment she needed and was also able to meet other athletics expenses.
As a Kenyan-Indian woman athlete, she was often stereotyped, with some people assuming that she was only training for fun and would eventually abandon the sport.
“People would be like, this Indian is running, you know, they’ve never seen an Indian running,” she recalled.
However, she continued working hard despite the discouragement.
Rather than taking up long-distance running that many Kenyan athletes are famed for, she decided to take up sprinting, where it would be easier for her to stand out.
One of her biggest achievements came during the East African Universities Championships in Kampala, Uganda, where she won the 100-metre race despite having hip and knee problems.
Janvi also won silver in the 200 metres and received the USIU-Africa Most Valuable Player athlete award.
Aside from athletics, she is a student at USIU-Africa, where she is pursuing a degree in International Business Administration.
She also runs a fashion sportswear business, with most of her clients being fellow athletes.
Looking ahead, she hopes to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games and the 2029 World Championships.
“We’re aiming to run in the Olympics and then the World Championships in 2029,” she said.