It was a display of exemplary team spirit when an NDA cadet lifted his wounded junior on his back to help him finish a 12.5km inter-squadron cross country race.
The National Defence Academy, located in Pune, organises a cross-country race every 6 months. It’s an inter-squadron competition, in which cadets of NDA’s 18 squadrons take part. Except for the 1st term cadets, it’s compulsory for others to participate in the race, as it carries some points.
The race focusses on endurance and more than beating fellow cadets, it’s important to cross the finishing line. The race involves running on difficult terrains without any half-time or substitutions.
During the race, when Chirag Arora, a final term army cadet saw that his junior Devesh Joshi was injured and about to collapse, he carried him on his back and finished the race so that he didn’t lose out on points.
Chirag ran for half a kilometre in 55 minutes with Devesh on his back and they crossed the finish line together.
Major Surendra Poonia, a former special forces officer of the Indian army, tweeted a photo of them praising Chirag for his outstanding act.
What a camaraderie!