Business Administration graduate Nidhi Singh is making history at MSU as one of the top-performing track athletes the program has ever seen. But Singh had to jump many hurdles to get where she is now, battling injury and low self-esteem.
Singh started running track when she was only six-years-old in her home city of Mumbai, India. She described how her sports teacher at school recognized her talent and wrote her parents a letter suggesting their daughter should run track
“My sports teacher at my school. . . wrote a letter to my parents like ‘she is very good’ and the fees were very small for track practice. And so my father was like ‘you don’t do your homework anyways, you should rather make yourself useful,’ so I just started running track,” Singh said.
Singh got her bachelor’s degree back in India and decided to come to the United States after her friend from back home, who was also the grad assist for MSU’s track and cross-country team last year, convinced her she could improve her level as a runner if she joined the team.
Now, Singh is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.
She has been making history at MSU. With her most recent results this semester at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championship in Indianapolis.
Only the top 18 runners in the nation qualify for Indoors. Singh remembered a few weeks before nationals she was ranked #18 and would check the rankings every weekend to make sure she was not bumped down.
Fortunately, that was the case.
There was no question if Singh would qualify after her performance at the Boston University Last Chance National Qualifier in where she captured a 2:06.48 finish, knocking out her previous school record by four seconds. This result skyrocketed her to #5 in the nation and promised a guaranteed entry for the 800-meter race.
Singh’s performance was the best an MSU athlete has had at National Indoors, finishing fifth in the final. Singh is only the second Mustang to ever compete in the championship.
“The season has been wonderful so far. My coach usually makes us write in our journal before a race and after a race. So before all the races, I had this goal like I have to represent MSU at NCAA Nationals finals. And that’s what I did. And she put an arrow, and she was like, ‘goal achieved’” Singh said.
Singh’s results this semester are even more meaningful as she did not perform at her real potential during her first year at MSU. Not only was she suffering from an injury, but she was having a hard time believing in herself too. Despite everything, she persevered.
“I started writing journals. I started doing double workouts. If there was only one workout, I started doing double workouts in the morning and evening. I told myself like, ‘I know myself. This is not my level. I can do more,’” Singh said.
One of her biggest supporters throughout her time in the states has been head coach Kelsey Bruce.
“She doesn’t butter you up, you know? She’s real, she’s real with you. . . I think I wouldn’t have run 2.06 without her, honestly. Like she was there. She was there in the middle of the race, telling me what to do. If she wasn’t there, I would have run the race like my previous times, honestly, yeah,” Singh said.
Heading into the outdoor season, Singh has even higher goals, this time aiming for a podium finish at the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
This will be Singh’s last season at MSU, as she is getting ready to graduate at the end of the semester. Depending on how the rest of the season goes, she says she wants to race as a professional track athlete.
“It all depends on the season, actually. Yeah, if I do really well, like, if I hit the standards, which are in my mind, then I’ll go back to India, I will try to go pro. I’ll definitely go pro if I go back to India. And, at the same time, I am trying to get a job here as an analyst,” Singh said.
Singh competed at the Wes Kittley Invitational where she set another school record winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.13.
