Winner of Soul of Steel Himalayan Adventure Challenge

The ’Soul of Steel Himalayan Adventure Challenge’, a first-of-its-kind endurance event supported by the Indian Army, concluded in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand.

The only participant from Haryana in this program was from M.A. of Mukand Lal National College. Ravi Thakur, a student of English, was also the winner of the event. Six teams of three persons each competed in the grueling final stage from 10 to 17 June. Six teams competed in the rugged terrain of the Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 17,000 feet, covering a distance of 65 kilometers between glaciers, walls of ice, rocks.

In all, 1,401 individuals including 94 women applied for the challenge, all of whom were highly accomplished athletes, adventure sports enthusiasts and candidates for the armed forces.

After a rigorous two-stage screening process, 23 persons, including two women, were selected to undergo a final 10-week training in endurance, mountaineering, survival and rescue skills. These 23 were divided into six teams. The event took place on the occasion of 120th raising year of 9 Independent Mountain Brigade Group headquartered at Joshimath. Central Army Commander Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani distributed the awards.

College General Secretary Dr. Ramesh Kumar and Executive Principal Dr. Ritu Kumar congratulated Ravi Thakur on this achievement and encouraged him to participate in future activities.