A 30-year-old soldier of the Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army clocked an hour and five minutes in the half-marathon, and was awarded the gold medal for his feat on Sunday.
Tirtha Pun, who hails from Nepal, said he was initially unsure of competing in the marathon. “In order to check my capabilities, I started running various marathons across the country,” said Mr. Pun, who had also grabbed a gold medal at the Bengaluru Marathon.
The soldier said he did not participate in the marathon to compete with anyone else, but only with himself. “I wanted to check my development as a runner. It was sheer luck that I won,” Mr. Pun said.
He dedicated his win to his coach M. Shekhar, who motivated him to join the armed forces. “My coach always used to encourage me to outrun myself. Running plays a crucial role in recruitment process of the Indian Armed Forces,” Mr. Pun, who joined the Indian Army in 2008 and had also participated in the Mumbai Marathon in 2014, said.
The soldier also said he was lucky to not have suffered any major running injuries till date. “There are many players who are unable to recover completely after an injury. Fortunately, nothing like that happened with me,” Mr. Pun, who runs to stay fit, said.
