For most athletes, breaking a national record is a life-changing moment, but not for 20-year-old Sonam. The Delhi-based distance runner is convinced that if sportspeople outside the realm of cricket succeed, they only get fleeting moments of adulation before life goes on as it was.

“There’s been no change in my personal life. Everyone just takes interviews, but there’s still no support. My father still works at a brick kiln [in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh],” Sonam told mid-day after winning third place in the Indian elite women’s category (2:55:45) at the Mumbai Marathon despite having no prior experience of running a 42-km race.