This Story of Major Surendra Poonia Will Fill You With Energy

This is the real story of Major Surendra Poonia, Vishisht Seva Medal who also served as President’s Bodyguard and Para Special Forces. 

A Gold Medalists sportsperson, Major Surendra Poonia is one of the most decorated officer of Indian Armed Forces.

“Tumhein padne bheja tha wahan, ya khelne (Did I send you there to study or to play games)" – said Major Surendra Poonia’s Father Shri Gulab Chand, a farmer by profession, upon hearing that his eldest son Surendra was planning to go to France from his medical college to participate in Medical Olympics in the year 1999. 

Today, Shri Gulab Chand is a proud man who talks of his son’s achievements in his native village of Rajpura in Siker District, Rajasthan. This is the village where Major Poonia was born to him in year 1977. The future athlete grew up in a remote area away from the banks of major rivers. He always aspired to create new standards and set records right from his childhood. When he was 5 years old, one of his teacher asked him to plant one tree in their home and to make sure it survive. In one of the driest places in the country, no child, including Surendra, was able to make the plant survive. His grandmother told him, “Son! In our home no tree has ever grown. Your grandfather tried, your father tried, it always failed.” That motivated young Surender even more. Year after year, he planted the saplings, did something innovative to compensate for the problems of his previous attempts. The cycle of failure went on for 5 years, until finally a plant survived and began to grow tall – it still exists in his village today. That was the first record to be broken by young Surendra.

Major Surendra Poonia studied in his village Rajpura and later joined Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Patan,Sikar and completed his graduation from one of the India’s most prestigious medical colleges - Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. He became not only the first Army Officer from his village but also the first doctor. He is the one of the best sportsmen produced by Navodaya Vidyalaya or Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). In year 1999 he broke all the long distance races record held by AFMC alumni from as far back as 1968 and 1971. After obtaining his MBBS degree from AFMC, Pune, Major Poonia was commissioned in the Indian Army in Aug 2001.

Major Surendra Poonia later volunteered for the challenging and elite volunteer force of the Indian Army- The Parachute Regiment, where he served with 2 Para Special Forces, 10 Para Special Forces and 5 Para for 5 years in the insurgency ridden area of Jammu and Kashmir. He also saw service on the world’s highest battlefield – Siachen. During a counter terrorism operation in 2005 at Bandipore forest, Kashmir he saved the lives of 1 officer and 8 soldiers during a fierce gun-battle for which the Chief of the Indian Army decorated him with his Commendation Card. In 2003, he participated in the Indo-Mongolia Joint War Exercise at Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Major Surendra Poonia also served with distinction in the United Nation’s Peace Keeping Mission at Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for one year managing international peace missions in difficult areas. In 2008, Major Surendra Poonia was selected for the oldest and most prestigious Parachute -Cavalry regiment of India -The President’s Bodyguard (PBG), which serves directly under the Supreme Commander of the Nation. The PBG is the only Para-Cavalry regiment in the world. He served under two Presidents of India- Smt Pratibha Devi Singh Patil and Sh Pranab Mukherjee.

In 2010, Major Surendra Poonia became the first Indian sportsman to win three medals in the World Medical Games at Croatia. Subsequently, in 2011 at Las-Palmas, Spain he won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal at the same meet. Year 2012 saw him further improve on his previous sporting success when he won 2 gold medals and 5 silver medals in Antalya, Turkey becoming the first athlete to win consecutive gold medals in the Power Lifting event for 3 years in a row.

Reasons Why You Should Join The Armed Forces. 

From July 2008 to Sept 2012 Dr. Surendra Poonia was one of the core team member involved in implementing ‘Roshni’ – a green innovative concept, evolved on the behest of the then President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, encompassing environment management and empowerment of local communities to create eco-friendly sustainable urban habitats through participation of stakeholders and convergence of partnership programmes. The programme aims to make the President’s Estate a model in green, energy efficient and zero waste model township as an example for all other habitats across India. Following the launch of Roshni, the President’s Estate became the first urban habitat to be awarded the “ISO 14001:2004” Certification, for its Environment Management System.

Major Poonia is a rare combination of international medal winning sportsman, decorated army officer, paratrooper, medical professional and fitness expert. With his 12 yrs of diverse exposure, experience, passion for excellence and multifaceted expertise to lead an Indian sports and social initiative that dreams of narrowing the gap between rural and urban India, he resigned from Armed Forces in 2012.

Today, he is a sportsperson, a fitness expert, a social worker, a youth icon and a speaker combining his experience as a soldier, a paratrooper and a medical doctor.