Kolkata: Having made history at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last month, 3000m steeplechase national record holder Lalita Babar hopes to raise the bar in next year's Olympics.


Lalita Babar. Pic/AFP 

The 26-year-old from Maharashtra smashed her own national record by clocking 9:27.86 seconds in the semifinals also of the Beijing meet before finishing eighth in the final. In a recovery phase, Lalita is targeting to cut off 13 seconds before Rio approaches, something that may put her in top five, if not medal contention.