4 bullets on, he wants to win Ironman Triathlon in SA Mumbai terror attacks,

During the Praveen Teotia received 4 bullets which affected his right lung and hearing and over 100 bullet splinters are still lodged inside him.

After recovering from four bullet injuries sustained during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, former Marine Commando Praveen Teotia, 32, is determined to prove his mettle to win the title of Ironman Triathlon which is scheduled to take place next year in South Africa despite having damaged his right lung and suffering from hearing loss.

The bullets were fired on Teotia at The Taj Hotel on 27 November 2008. He was first treated at INHS Asvini till 15 March 2009 and The Taj Public Service Welfare Trust later offered aid for medical assistance.

He has undergone several surgeries at INHS Asvini and Bombay Hospital but his lungs remained damaged and the multiple surgeries at elite hospitals could not revive his hearing capacity.

“At present, I am being trained by Ironman certified coach Kaustubh Radkar for the Ironman Triathlon which is to take place in South Africa in April 2018,” said Teotia, who was assigned a desk job on medical grounds.

Teotia told the Free Press Journal that over 100 bullet splinters are still lodged inside in his body and they cannot be operated upon.

Teotia is preparing hard to complete the 3.8 km swimming, 180.2 km cycling and 42.2 km running challenge to win the Ironman Triathlon title. But his zeal and enthusiasm remained alive as Teotia, who retired from Indian Navy on July 31 this year, has won several titles like Half Ironman Marathon in Jaipur, Khardung La Challenge, etc.

“Khardung La Challenge is considered to be the world’s highest and toughest too. Total 108 marathoners from 27 different countries including Germany, Australia, South Africa, etc had come to participate in Khardung La Challenge in September. 30 out of 108 marathoners were disqualified and I got 43rd rank among the rest 78 participants. Marathan coach Pervin Batliwala encouraged me a lot to do more and now I am eyeing to win the title in South Africa next year,” Teotia told the Free Press Journal.

“Marathon tests the endurance of a runner, I gained confidence after getting a third rank at the Jaipur International Half Ironman Triathlon in March this year and covered 90 km cycling, running for 21.1 km and swimming for 1.9 km,” he said. Besides this, a 32-year-old Shaurya Chakra winner Teotia has urged the central and state government to help him in raising funds to climb Mount Everest.