Details

Praveen Kumar Teotia

Ex Indian Navy Commando | Ultra-Athlete

Who am I

During the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, Praveen Kumar Teotia was shot in the chest and his right lung was punctured. This year, he completed the Ironman in South Africa….

From joining the Navy in 2002, Praveen soon joined the elite commando unit. But in November 2008, Teotia’s life changed in a flash.

Praveen was the first of his team to enter the Taj Hotel and was forced to confront at least four intruders.

“Ek goli kaan ko lekar chali gayi. Jab khoon behne laga, tab pata chala—bach gaye, zinda hai (A bullet hit my ear. When I felt the blood trickle down my neck, I realized I was alive),” he says.

Death was a certainty—either I could suffocate and die, or take a bullet while trying to get to the door. I decided to face the enemy—even if I didn’t survive, I would die knowing that I had given my best for the country,” says Praveen.

The doctor, who had seen his fair share of bullet-ridden victims, termed Teotia’s survival a miracle. It took five operations to save him, including grafting on the ear which had been torn apart. Even today, he has multiple bullet splinters of all sizes, from his chest to his liver. His right lung would never be the same again.

In March the following year, Teotia resumed duty and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his bravery. But he was now confined to a desk job.

“I longed for normalcy, the kind I was used to—upar se kudo, neeche se kudo, fir pel ke khana khao, uniform peheno, goliyan chalao aur shaam main football khelo (jump around while going through the drills, eat a hearty meal, fire some rounds and then play football in the evening). I never realized when my day passed,” he says.

“Now, I was handed paperwork all day. In addition, I had to run around filling forms for all kinds of disability certification and to avail privileges that come with the Shaurya Chakra. The promotions stopped as well,” he says.

At one point, I was a striker and an integral part of the team; now, I earned all kinds of tags—behra, kaan kata, langda ghoda (deaf, ear-less, lame horse). They said I sat around doing nothing,” he says.

Teotia was a broken man, but he knew that rebuilding was the only way out of his misery.

On his return to Visakhapatnam, he took control of his life. He decided to fetch milk every morning, a task usually performed by his wife. One day, he dropped the milk bag and took a short run. Just half a kilometre later, he stopped with a big smile on his face.

“I was drenched in sweat, I felt my lung would burst. But I had never felt so good. The following day, I went running again,” he says.

Teotia decided to run the half marathon at the Mumbai Marathon in 2015. He clocked an encouraging 1 hour, 53 minutes.

“Running brought a different energy to me. It was as if I had survived just to run,” he says.

After running multiple races over the next few years, Teotia graduated to the marathon in Mumbai in 2016. During that run, he happened to pass by Milind Soman.

“I wondered what was the need for him to run that distance, given that he’s a celebrity—10km would be enough for him. Then, when I looked him up, I realized that he was an Ironman. My running was in place, and I had enough swimming experience as a navy diver. All I had to figure out was cycling—I too wanted to be an Ironman,”

in 2017 Praveen managed his first Ultramarathon in Leh and later his first Ironman

It took a massive effort to cross the finish line. But eventually, he made it.

“I want people to realize what’s possible—jab ek toota-phoota aadmi itna kuch kar sakta hai, to aap kuch kyun nahi kar sakte hai (when a broken man can do so much, anyone can). When you create a wall in front of you, it will only get higher if you don’t address it. If you focus on the cannot, you’ve already lost out on what could be,” he says.

Now 10 yrs later after reclaiming his life, Praveen is an Ironman, an ultramarathoner and an inspiration to many.