Chirag Arora ran the last lap with junior cadet Devesh Joshi on his back.

PUNE: A sixth term cadet of the National Defence Academy (NDA) carried an injured junior from the fourth term on his back for half a kilometre to enable him to finish a 12.5km inter-squadron cross country race, recently.

An NDA officer told TOI on Tuesday, “Both cadets are from the Echo Squadron. Final term army cadet Chirag Arora, who is also quarter master sergeant of the squadron, saw his junior Devesh Joshi in a precarious condition and on the verge of collapse. Arora put Joshi on his back and carried him for half a km to finish the race in 55 minutes.”

The race is without half time, timeouts or substitutions run over undulating terrains. The emphasis is on finishing rather than beating fellow cadets, where the slowest runner is as important as the fastest runner.

The academy organises the cross country event every six months. Barring the first term cadets, it is mandatory for the rest to participate in the event. A finisher of the race earns points for his squadron.

“Chirag didn’t let his squadron cadet loose out on the points. He ensured that they crossed the finish line together,” the officer added.

On joining the academy, a cadet is allotted one of the 18 squadrons which becomes his home away from home for the three years of academic and military training.

“The squadron spirit is inculcated and nurtured throughout the cadet's stay. The prestigious inter squadron championship trophy, called the Glider Trophy, is awarded to the best squadron. It denotes teamwork and team spirit and therefore, the race is crucial for each squadron,” the officer added.

Winning the trophy for the cross country race is part of the Echo squadron’s tradition. The squadron holds the record for the longest unbroken possession of the Glider.

The champions from the squadron are Second Lieutenant Puneet Nath Dutt of the 87th course who was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously and Captain Anuj Nayyar of the 90th course who was given Mahavir Chakra after the Kargil War, again posthumously.

Major Surendra Poonia, a former special forces officer of the Indian army, tweeted a photo of the cadet carrying another on his back, saying “Soldier’s spirit & Camaraderie!” Till Tuesday evening, over 1,000 people had re-tweeted the photo which also garnered more than 3,000 ‘likes’.

