Major Dr. Surendra Poonia, VSM is an international award-winning sportsman, Limca book record holder, physician, former Special Forces officer of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, founder of Soldierathon marathon, Fit Bharat and a politician of Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the first Indian athlete with the rare distinction of having won medals in power-lifting and athletic events in four consecutive world championships. He was born on 1 January 1977 in a farmer family in

Sikar Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is part of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu.Sik ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. He is a graduate of the AFMC, Pune.

Career

Poonia is an alumnus of the

Armed Forces Medical College upright=1.1, AFMC main building The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is a leading medical training institute in Pune, India, in the state of Maharashtra. The college is managed by the Indian Armed Forces. Established in May 1948 as a post ...

, Pune (AFMC Pune) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya(JNV), Patan, Sikar, Rajasthan. Currently, he is an active alumni in JNV Sikar. He was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in August 2001. He served with The President's Bodyguard at

Rashtrapati Bhawan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

, Special Forces and United Nation's peacekeeping mission in

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Major Surendra Poonia joined the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on 23 March before 2019 Lok Sabha General election. After joining the party, Poonia tweeted stating, "I have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party to serve the nation and our people. It is a great honour for me to support and stand with the idea of 'Nation First' against the idea of 'Family First' from party's platform which is led by the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

Achievements

Major Surendra Poonia represented India in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in 5 World Championships and won 27 medals including 10 Golds. He is the first Indian power-lifter to have won gold in four consecutive championships from 2010 to 2013. On 26 January 2012, he was felicitated by 'Vishisht Seva Medal' by The Hon'ble President of Republic of India for his 'Distinguished Service of an Exceptional Order' in the field of sports. He was also awarded 'Most Entertaining Sportsman of the year'-Male by Reliance Big FM in 2013. He is Limca book record holder of most international sports medals won by any Indian doctor.

References

External links

Surendra Poonia
in JNV Sikar Alumni(1994 batch)
Major Surendra Poonia's interview podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poonia, Surendra Athletes from Rajasthan Living people 1977 births Weightlifters from Rajasthan Para Commandos Indian Army personnel