Devender Pal Singh – Keynote Speaker

Major Devender Pal Singh is a retired officer of the Indian Army. He is a Kargil war veteran and is known as India’s first blade runner. Major Singh has completed 20 half marathons to date, including 2 half marathons in extreme conditions at altitudes of 12,000 feet.

Major D P Singh graduated from the Indian Military Academy in 1997 and was commissioned into the 7th Battalion, The Dogra Regiment. After injury in 2002, he converted to Army Ordnance Corps and, subsequently, retired from the Indian Army in 2007, after serving for 10 years. 

In 1999, Major Singh was severely injured by a mortar, he was declared dead at the army hospital but thankfully saved. The shrapnel injuries he sustained led to part of his right leg being amputated.

Major Singh’s experiences have made him want to give back and he has begun a support group for amputees called ‘The Challenging Ones’, to encourage and enable people like him to strive and to rise above their disability through sports. In just 5 years there has been a big shift in perception of society towards Persons with Disability, due to the work done by TCO.

Major Singh is regularly invited to deliver sessions on topics which include, Death: Beginning of my Life, Setbacks and Success, Courage, Perseverance, Perceptions and Personality, Working as Team, Journey from Death Bed to India’s first Blade runner, Challenging the conventional and more.

He was personally chosen by the Defence Minister of Government of India to be a part of the committee to bring reform to the lives of Armed Forces Personnel.