Joga Singh’s appetite for success is intact

Anil Datt

Ludhiana, March 2

Joga Singh has been adding one medal after another to his kitty and it appears that his appetite to win more laurels will never diminish. An enclosure at the drawing room of his house, full of medals and certificates aptly depicts his achievements.

A resident of Bakhlaur village in Nawanshahr district, Joga Singh, employed as travelling ticket inspector (TTI) with the Indian Railways and currently posted at Ludhiana railway station, has been hogging limelight since 1998 as he has won many medals at the state, national and international athletics meets.

Strict training

At present, Joga Singh has been following a strict training schedule to prepare for the 42-km marathon slated to be held at Delhi on March 7. He follows the instructions from the senior marathon coach, BS Lone, who keeps a watch (online) from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh.

Recently, Joga Singh bagged three gold medals in the 41st Punjab State Masters Athletics Meet at Mastuana Sahib in Sangrur district wherein he gave a sterling performance and secured top position in the 1,500-m, 5,000-m and 10,000-m races in the 40-45 age group.

Joga Singh, a 1994 pass out from State Sports School, Jalandhar, finished ahead of others to clinch the gold medal in 10,000-m race in the last edition of the state masters meet at Jalandhar. The same year, he emerged triumphant in 5,000-m race in the National Masters Meet at Panchkula.

In June, 2019, Joga Singh participated in the Open Malaysian Masters Athletics Championship at Kuala Lumpur wherein he annexed the gold medal in the 5,000-m race.

While representing the railways, Joga Singh excelled to win positions in individual events and also helped his employers secure many medals in the national-level athletics meets. He won the gold medal in the cross-country race (4 km) held at Udaipur in 1998, secured the silver medal in the meet at Warangal in 2000, clinched gold medal at Haridwar in 2001, finished runner-up at Jabalpur in 2002, at Goa in 2003 and at Shimla in 2004.

Besides, Joga Singh had won the gold medal in 10,000-m race in addition to a bronze medal in the 5,000-m race during the All-India Inter-Railways Athletics Meet at Chennai in 2004.

Joga Singh represented the country in the Asian Cross Country Championship at Pune in 2004 and secured the silver medal. He also bagged the silver medal in the World Railways Cross Country Meet held at Belgium the same year.

At present, Joga Singh has been following a strict training schedule to prepare for the 42-km marathon slated to be held at Delhi on March 7. He follows the instructions from the senior marathon coach, BS Lone, who keeps a watch (online) from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh.

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