Ironman 70.3 Goa: Expect tough competition to defend my title this year, says 2019 winner Bishworjit Singh Saikhom

Pune: Considered to be the toughest endurance race in the world, with several experienced international athletes taking part, it was an Indian Army soldier from Manipur who was first to cross the finish line in the first edition of Ironman 70.3 Goa, which requires the participant to complete 1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, 21.1 km running.

Bishworjit Singh Saikhom is now determined to repeat this feat on November 13 in Panaji where over 1,300 participants will take to the starting line at Miramar Beach.

Bishworjit hails from a small hamlet close to Imphal, Manipur and this is where his journey as a triathlete began.

“I came to know of this discipline only after watching my brother. I started with swimming in a pool in Imphal and once I learnt the skill, I asked my brother to help me train as a triathlete but he said, ‘it’s a difficult discipline to excel at’ and that ‘I’m not cut out for it’. So, I decided to stick to swimming but I failed to make any real progress in the sport for a couple of years and I was pretty disheartened about it. That’s when I turned to my brother again and he agreed to help me out,” Bishworjit spoke of his formative days.

From a humble background, Bishworjit had to work the hard yards to make a mark in triathlon.

“I was 17 when my journey as a triathlete took off. At the time, I didn’t even have a cycle. Fortunately, I came across a competition in Hyderabad where a cycle was the prize for completing the course in Olympic-level time. That’s when I began to train and eat well, I wanted to achieve that mark and eventually ended up winning the cycle,” he was quoted as saying by the organisers in a release on Tuesday.

“I used to practice on my own in my village, and later in the Indian Army campus in Pune I found company to practice. I used to practice with their cycling team and their track and field team. New players need to have a never give up attitude, they need to watch Olympians practice and follow their diet to get better. It is a hard sport and mental support from family and friends is also necessary,” he added.

The 32-year-old Bishworjit, who currently trains in Imphal under the guidance of his coaches who have him on a single-day rest regime, feels that the awareness of triathlon and Ironman as a discipline has grown since he last won the race in 2019.

“There are so many more participants and I’m expecting a tougher competition this time, especially from the residents of Goa, it looks like a tough task to come out on top now. I knew a lot of foreigners were going to show up so I trained really hard last time but I never thought I’d actually win,” she added.

“I missed out on an opportunity to go to New Zealand due to COVID-19 so I want to do well in Ironman 70.3 again and hopefully get selected for the World Championship next year,” he said making his intentions clear.

Bishworjit will be arriving in Goa, a few days before race day to get acclimatised, and get a few rounds of practice in the challenging Arabian Sea and check out the running and cycling route of the race.

–IANS