Major DP Singh

Major DP Singh

Major D P Singh was "declared dead" in an army hospital in July 1999 after a Pakistani mortar exploded just a meter away from him during the Kargil War. He was revived by a specialist, only to be told three days later that his right leg would be amputated below his knee because gangrene had set in.

Two months later, he was still at the hospital, weighing a mere 28kg, his stomach operated upon twice, a major part of his intestine cut, suffering partial deafness, and doctors giving up on trying to extract the 40 splinters still embedded in his body!

Ten years later, Singh ran the 2009 Delhi Half Marathon — a distance of 21 km — in 3 hours and 49 minutes  with a special leg provided by the Army’s Pune-based Artificial Limb Centre.

Running is about willpower. You don’t need sponsorship. It’s just you and 21 km

"When the doctors told me about the amputation, the first thing I told myself was now I will show the world how disabled people live. I was sure I will never compromise the way I lived. It was difficult for me to even walk initially. But over years, my mind and body found alternatives to work around the restrictions I was put through. Today, I can walk normally; my gait is as good as any normal person's. Yes, it took me 14 years to be able to start running," says Singh.