Meet the Indian bladerunner

He may not be Indiarsquos answer to Oscar Pistorius but Major Devender Pal Singh most certainly has the same courage and determination reflecting in his eyes the kind of resolve that helps you make it through the biggest problems The amputee athlete lost his right leg to a Pakistani mortar during the Kargil War 14 years ago at the Akhnoor Sector But this former 7 Dogra unit leader never lost his strength to fight back He became the first blade runner in India and is now a veteran of nine marathons The former army officer credits his perseverance to the training he received in the army PicsRajeev Tyagi Singh who had to stay in hospital for a year after the mortar injury turns philosophical as he talks about the passion and source of strength that motivated him through the ordeal ldquoA person in the army is not only an army man At an individual level he is also a civilian The only difference the army makes is it that it grooms people to fight against all odds That is what helped merdquo says the Kargil war hero who has since retired from the forcesu00a0 It is not easy for anyone to overcome the shock and pain of losing a part of his or her body and onersquos life changes forever But Singhrsquos life changed for the better ldquoWhen I was a fit man even a 14kilometre crosscountry race used to tire me But after I lost my limb I began running more than that By now I have run nine halfmarathons which are 21kilometre racesrdquo said Singh who now works in a bank But the journey has not been easy for him Most people did not take him seriously ldquoI decided to enter the Airtel halfmarathon in Delhi WHEN to get people to stop doubting me and that is exactly what happened It was something I did without even talking to my parents first They were hurt and angry After three successful half marathons with one normal walking leg the army found out about this and provided me with an Irelandmade prosthesis which costs about Rs 45 lakhrdquo Singh said pointing to his legs The biggest challenge the soldierturnedmotivational speaker soon realised was making a perfectlysized prosthesis ldquoThe socket which connects my body with the prosthesis hurt the most After every race my skin used to peel and it would bleed and swell I had to bandage it for 15 days You canrsquot use the prosthesis again until the wound heals properly Once you find a technician or engineer who can make the perfectsized prosthesis there is no problemrdquo he explained But instead of turning to a technician Singh decided to innovate He came up with a jugaad local idea to help him overcome the pain he faced in his sockets after every marathon ldquoI managed to find gel socks that are available in the market I cut these socks into two parts one part of which is used as a knee cap which works as a foam cushion that holds my knee properly I then layer it with another pair of socks It is working for merdquo he said Surprisingly before he was amputated Singh was not a serious athlete During his years at school and college he took part in several competitions but not at the highest level ldquoI was not a longdistance runner in school I did participate in shot put and discus throw but didnrsquot represent any of the institutions at the top levelrdquo explains Singh He believes his inspiration came from his strong faith in God ldquoI feel everyone who is here in this world or universe comes with an aim Life is given to you to fulfill that task In other words God sends you to earth to achieve something Everyone gets married everyone works one has to die some day This is life but if you do something different God must choose you to do that I do feel that God has chosen me It is my destinyrdquo Singhrsquos strong voice confirms this belief Major D P Singh is being offered a better running limb by Hanger Inc Oklahoma USA He is looking sponsors for his trip He can be contacted on majordpsinghgmailcom or 9650960322 u00a0