Majority of us hardly know him or have heard his name, but let the truth be told, he is a hero in real life. Today he is India’s First Disabled Ironman. We are talking about the Former Marine Commando, Praveen Teotia, who has proved his mettle, once while fighting the terrorists and then again while overcoming all the hardships that came in the way of his dreams. He has earned the Ironman title after winning the prestigious Ironman Triathlon Championship 2018 in South Africa.
This Shaurya Chakra winner took four bullets in his chest in the horrific attacks of 26/11 at the Taj Mahal Hotel. The encounter left him with a punctured lung. One bullet also went through his ear and made him hearing impaired. And this is not all. He has around 100 splinters still lodged in his body. Taking note of his medical condition, he was redesignated to the rank of a petty officer. Even though he knew that he couldn’t be a commando again, he was not ready to accept a desk job. Thereby, he went ahead for a Navy mountaineering expedition, but his application was rejected due to medical reasons. This is what motivated him to prove that he was capable of doing anything.
He wanted to prove that the spirit of a commando was still alive in him. It was at this time when a marathon runner Parvin Batliwala encouraged him to train himself for long-distance runs. Hence, his training began in 2014 and the following year he ran the Mumbai Half Marathon. He further ran the Indian Navy Half Marathon in 2016 and in 2017, he participated in the Half Iron Man Triathlon in Jaipur in which he had to swim 1.9 km , cycle 90 km and run 21 km.
Still unable to convince the Indian Navy and even then bearing no ill feeling for anyone, he took voluntary retirement, following which he headed for another big achievement. He took up the Khardung La Challenge and ran at altitudes higher than 18,380 ft. The stipulated time was 14 hours and he finished it in 12.5 hours, which earned him a medal. For the one with a damaged lung, it wasn’t an easy task, but it was his strong will power that got him through it successfully.
But did he stop dreaming here?? Absolutely not !!! In fact, he started dreaming even bigger. To add some more adventure to his life and to push his limits further, he turned his focus towards the Ironman title at the Triathlon Championships 2018 in South Africa. Considered to be one of the toughest challenge, this athletic competition has three stages- cycling, running and swimming.
Praveen finished the event successfully by cycling 180.2 km, running 42.2 km and swimming 3.86 km. His victory was not an easy one. The derailleur of his cycle broke after cycling for 110 km.and resulting in his falling down on the road and injuring his knee and ankle. But that could not stop him. He got his cycle repaired at the bike maintenance tent which was hardly 50 metres away. They made the cycle gearless and he cycled uphill for the next 70 km. It was his will power fuelled by the passion of proving himself that kept him going.
Following his success at the Ironman competition in South Africa, Teotia is still unstoppable. He is now prepping up for America’s Ultraman to be held in February next year. Team SwachhAbility is amazed with his driven attitude and congratulates him on all of his achievements. He has our best wishes for all his future quests.
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