egendary sprinter Milkha Singh wants an Indian to win an athletics' medal at the Olympics, a feat that hasn't been achieved yet. But a long distance runner from Allahabad believes he has the potential to end the wait.

Indrajeet Patel is the winner of the 2014 and 2013 Mumbai Half Marathon and also the Asian Area Champion (Jr.) in 3000 metres (held at Singapore in 2010).

He spoke to The Sunday Guardian about his journey from selling vegetables at his village to competing with the top runners in the world.

Patel was a born into a farmer's family and at a very young age began helping his parents in their fields. "Farming is a labour intensive process. Right from sowing the seeds to selling the produce, I have done it all. I think all that work has helped me become a strong man."

21-year-old Patel hails from Saraon Village, in Uttar Pradesh, where his tryst with running began. Little Patel was, one day, taking a stroll near a local playground when a group of boys invited him to play handball. It was the first time he was introduced to any kind of sporting activity, he says. Since then Patel joined them to play various other sports and realised that his stamina and pace was way better than the other boys.

He felt that he could run faster than the others with ease and decided to try his hands at the local race events. He did exceedingly well in those events without receiving any formal training. But the poor financial condition of his family meant that he could not afford to buy a pair of running shoes even while taking part in district level events.

"I used to run barefoot and win races even at the District level. I got my first pair of sports shoe (school PT shoes) in 2006 for Rs 98," he says.

Patel's coach Jasvinder Bhatia speaks very highly of his pupil. "I met Patel when he had joined Guru Gobind Singh Sports College in Punjab. I always knew that he had the potential to become a good runner. I am not at all surprised at his achievements. In fact I expect much more from him. He is young, very hard working, with some guidance he can do much better," he says.

Bhatia says that Patel has always been very concerned about the well being of his family and his three younger sisters. "Earlier he did not have a job and was tensed, but now after getting employed by ONGC he is able to concentrate more on the sport."

Patel, who idolises British marathon runner Mohamed Farah, says if he gets better training facilities, nothing is going to stop him from winning an Olympic medal. For that Patel says he needs to train abroad with international coaches. He wants to train in Ethiopia which he says will improve his chances for qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"I have no sponsors. Whatever I earn is utilised towards my daily expenses and training requirements. I don't have enough money to send to my family. Sometimes, when they ask me for money I have to make sacrifices with my training requirements. I have to delay buying shoes which can prove very costly while training at this level," he says.

India for Sports, a crowfunding platform, has launched a campaign to cover Indrajeet's expenses to train abroad. Crowdfunding is method of raising funds for a venture or project generally through large number of online contributions. Prominent Indian athletes like wrestler Bajrang Kumar and shot putter Inderjeet Singh have also raised funds through crowdfunding.