Seema travelled to Nagoya without telling her mother and won Asian Games 10,000m bronze

Seema travelled to Nagoya, Japan without informing her mother and won the bronze medal in the women's 10,000m at the Asian Games on Thursday, clocking 32:50.05. The 25-year-old said she kept the trip secret because her mother, who is "around 78," becomes very anxious whenever Seema travels.

Seema, who comes from Reta village in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district, left for Nagoya after briefing her elder sister. On Thursday she became only the third Indian to win a medal in the women's 10,000m, after Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut's gold and silver at the 2010 Asian Games. She is the youngest of six family members and said her sister is "around 45 years old."

Describing the race, Seema said, "The race was very tactical. Everyone ran for the medal. I also thought that I will fight for the medal because it was my first Asian Games. Everyone wants to win gold for their country." She added, "I fought to win gold, but I won the bronze medal."

Seema recounted parts of her upbringing after her father died when she was 12, saying she spent her childhood running barefoot and herding cattle and that her mother supported her athletics despite villagers frowning on it. "It's my first Asian Games. I am proud that I won the bronze medal and I have realised my dream," she said.

On her recent preparations, Seema said, "I trained under Scott Simon. We train with the Olympic champions and that has helped us in performance as well as in mental aspect. We have the same mindset that we can compete with the best." She also noted she had won a silver at the World University Games last year.

Explaining why she did not tell her mother about the trip, Seema said, "My father is no more. I have my mother but she is quite old, around 78. I was born very late, when she was 45. Whenever I go out, she gets very tensed. So, I did not tell her that I am going to Japan for Asian Games." She added, "But whenever she finds out, she will not be able to sleep for a day. She (mother) has a high blood pressure problem and so whenever I go for training camp or for tournaments, I don't tell her much. I only tell my sister."

Seema said her mother "might have known by now from my sister, they might be watching me on television." "Otherwise, she (mother) must be thinking that I am currently in Bengaluru (SAI Center)," she added. Her next scheduled event is the 5,000m on September 28, and she said, "I will try my best to change the colour of my medal,".