Dehradun, When it comes to ‘go-getters’ there is no dearth of those in the Doon valley or to be precise in the hill-state of Uttarakhand. The spirit of ‘never-to-say-never,’ cuts across all age groups and gender too.
In the first of its kind an interesting motley of people from Dehradun (including one from USA) will make their presence felt on the television screen for a programme called ‘World’s Toughest Race, Eco Challenge Fiji, Coming 2020, on Prime Video.’
Fighting it out with other international teams in Fiji to win the race is India’s maiden team from Dehradun aptly called Team Khukuri Warriors. “Khukuri is the traditional knife of Gurkhas made world famous by the Gurkha soldiers. It symbolizes courage and valor. Our dad being in the Gurkha regiment, mom being a Gurkha herself it was only natural for us to name our Team Khukuri Warriors to inspire us to give our best under extremely adverse circumstances,” Tashi and Nungshi Malik team leaders of the group tell us.
The team carries with it the onus of being the first and only team from the Indian subcontinent to participate in Eco-Challenge beginning 7th of September this year.
Led by twins Tashi and Nungshi Malik, who at the age of 23 years have defied gender stereotypes by summiting world’s highest and farthest points – Mt Everest, the North Pole and the South Pole, mountain climbing expert Brandon Fisher USA, skiing and rafting expert Praveen Singh Rangar and their father Col VS Malik (TAC) a former Colonel in the Indian Army will be part of the Team Khukuri Warriors which promises to be take the lead from word GO!
Adjudged the ultimate expedition race, international teams are pitted against each other at the Eco-Challenge. Team members rough it out in a 24×7, race covering land and water over the next two weeks or so. The race encompasses transportation by mountain biking, paddling, rappelling, climbing, whitewater rafting etc via navigation done on maps and compass in their quest for the finish-line. The Eco Challenge race is known to be both physically and emotionally challenging as it pushes the limit of the team members and tests their co-ordination skills under adverse conditions.
Talking to Newspost Praveen Rangar adds, “my expertise in the field of kayaking and rafting got me a place in the team. We have been training from Goa to Mizoram, from Mumbai to Delhi and Uttarakhand for over a month now. The team is all set to give everyone a good fight.“
