Nitendra Singh Rawat during a media interaction in the city on Saturday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Army man Nitendra Singh Rawat is a strong contender for the Tata Mumbai Marathon in the elite Indian runners full marathon category. The Olympian (he qualified for the Rio 2016 Games with an impressive timing of 2 hours, 19 minutes) is a veteran in distance running, but recalls how he took to the sport — almost by chance. Rawat, 31, who used to be an infantry Havaldar with the sixth Kumaon Regiment and posted in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, was not even an athlete to begin with. He says, he ran fast only to avoid punishment.