One foot in Taiwan, one in India, Parth readies for his biggest leap yet

Parth Singh had an exhausting but ultimately rewarding opening day at the Junior Athletics National Championships in Ranchi last week.

Having arrived in the city only a few hours before the competition began, the 18-year-old ran a heat and semifinal in the 100m, then jumped in the qualification round of the men’s long jump before rushing back moments later to sprint in the 100m final.

Despite the chaos, Parth performed well above his expectations. Representing Jharkhand, he clocked a personal best of 10.51 seconds in the 100m to win gold. He also qualified for the men’s long jump final, where he set a new competition record of 7.82m — a mark good enough to earn him qualification for next year’s Under-20 World Championships.

Those standout performances weren’t the only thing about Parth that drew attention in Ranchi. Many were curious about his backpack emblazoned with “Chinese Taipei” and the fact that Ranchi was his first competition of the season in India — his previous five had been in Taiwan and Japan.

Even Parth’s hectic schedule stemmed from his life in Taiwan. As a student at the National Technical Sports University in Kaohsiung, he couldn’t get leave earlier to travel to India.

“Ideally, I would have come to Ranchi a few days before the start of the tournament to really get ready. But I could only reach on the morning of the 9th,” he admits to Sportstar.

“I know in India, colleges are relatively lenient in giving leave to go for a sports competition. They are really strict about college attendance in Taiwan. “I might have received some concession had I been competing for the university, but there’s no special favour for running in a meet here in India,” he says.

A day after the Junior Nationals ended, Parth was already on a plane back to Taiwan. “There’s no time to celebrate. In a week, I have my first-semester exams. I’ll be studying for that. I just hope I’ll be able to go for next year’s World Championships without such a rush,” he says.

Early life shift

For now, Parth straddles two worlds — one in India, which he represents, and another in Taiwan, where he has lived since the age of six.

Born in Pune to parents from Jharkhand, Parth moved to Taiwan when his father, Sunil, an engineer, took up a job there. The family settled in Taoyuan, about 40 km south of Taipei.

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Parth remembers the initial culture shock vividly. “It was really frustrating being the only Indian kid in class. I cried every single day because everyone there spoke Chinese, and I didn’t understand anything. The only ones I could speak to were my parents. I didn’t have any friends for six months until I actually started learning Chinese,” he recalls.

Language was a hurdle, but sport came naturally. “In the third grade, we had a sports day, and there was the 60m dash. I took part and ended up winning. My elementary school coach picked me up, and he asked me, ‘Hey, do you want to come to track and field to try it out?’ That’s how my running journey started.”

Parth’s early success saw him shift focus to the long jump. “There’s something special about jumping. It’s almost like flying through the air,” he says.

By sixth grade, he had won a national school-level competition, though progress stalled for a couple of years after that. It picked up again in the 10th grade when he jumped 7.62m — better than Taiwan’s national record at the time. “I didn’t really do anything special. It’s just that I hit my growth spurt then,” he recalls.

A toe injury later kept him from jumping for months, forcing him to focus again on sprinting. By the time he reached 12th grade, his 100m time had improved from 13 seconds to under 10.7.

Culturally Chinese

Even as his talent grew, Parth faced a decision.

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“It was always a bit strange to be running in the national competitions in Taiwan because I was always the only Indian kid there. I realised that no matter how good I was, I couldn’t run for Taiwan — I’d lived there for years, but I wasn’t a citizen. That’s when I started thinking about who I could compete for. I’m still an Indian citizen, so it was obvious I had to compete for India,” he says.

Last year, he competed for the first time in India at the U-18 Championships in Bilaspur, winning gold in both the 100m and long jump. The process was straightforward. “I was asked to provide the necessary documents, including proof of citizenship and details of my performances. I didn’t have to run in a State tournament or anything,” he recalls.

While he’s pleased with his choice, Parth admits it comes with mixed emotions. “It’s weird for me because Taiwan is like home. In my heart, I still feel a little bit bad about that one because I really love the country and the people, but at the same time, I can’t give up my Indian passport because India doesn’t have dual citizenship,” he says.

His coaches and friends in Taiwan have been supportive. “No one tried to convince me to get Taiwanese citizenship. My coaches said that if it was something I wanted, they’d support me. But they also told me they understood I wanted to represent India and would keep coaching me anyway,” he says.

While he will represent India, Parth admits he feels culturally more at home in Taiwan. “I’m very typically Taiwanese, I think. Although my mother makes Indian food, I enjoy eating at McDonald’s a lot more. And while I can speak in English, my first language is Mandarin. I even think in Mandarin,” he says.

Parth also has a Taiwanese name. “My full name is Parth Kumar Singh, but in Taiwan, I go by Ku Pa Sing. It’s how I’ve always been called. My friends call me Pa Sing. I even have a nickname — Xiao Hei, which means ‘little black guy. This nickname makes sense because all of my friends are much paler than I am. It’s not offensive or anything. It’s always been normal for me,” he says.

Even though Ranchi felt more familiar, Parth says he still finds it difficult to imagine living in India. “India is really beautiful, but I don’t think I could adjust to life here. When I came for this tournament, I landed in Delhi and got stuck in traffic right outside the airport. I waited there for 20–25 minutes, which people later told me was nothing, and I couldn’t believe it,” he says.

He also notices differences in sporting structures. “In Taiwan, you mostly represent your city or your school. In India, the big competitions are between the States. The level of coaching in Taiwan is also very high. You get the best facilities and coaches even at the junior high school and high school level,” he says.

Cultural unfamiliarity aside, Parth is clear about his ambitions. “Right now, I think that if I jump around 7.80 or 7.90m at the Junior World Championships, I will be in contention for a medal. But I have bigger dreams. I know I can represent India at the senior level. My goal is to run the 100m in 10.20 or 10.10 seconds, and I think I could make the relay team eventually. But I have a much better chance in the long jump. If I keep doing what I’m doing and stay injury-free, I believe it’s possible. My goal is to jump 8 or 8.10m by the end of next year. I think it’s very doable. I really hope you can see me at the Los Angeles Olympics,” he says.

Still in the early stages of his career, Parth is confident of his potential. “Right now I’m 5’11 and weigh 67 kilograms. I’m 18, but I think I still look like a kid. I think I have to bulk up a little more. I need to get some more power in my legs,” he says.

For now, Parth just wants to win medals and balance the two worlds he calls home. “It’s weird but also normal. Some people might think he’s training in Taiwan and representing India. But I can’t leave Taiwan, and I have to compete for India. My friends all understand. They all know I’ve done really well in India, and they are going to throw a party for me back in Taiwan when I come back next week. I hope it will be like this whenever I compete for India next,” he says.

Published on Oct 16, 2025