Ghaziabad man finishes Ironman Malaysia after 10 years of struggle

Ghaziabad: IT professional Pankaj Kumar Singh, 42, completed Ironman Malaysia on Nov 1 in 16 hours, 53 minutes and 43 seconds, just before the 17-hour cut-off.

The race — 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle, 42.2 km run — capped nearly a decade of injuries, failed attempts, and self-training around a full-time job.

Singh, who works in the IT sector, faced setbacks including dengue in 2017, missed cut-offs in 2018 and 2023, and kidney stones days before this year’s race. He trained daily at 4 am with no coach, balancing work and family life in Ghaziabad.“I was not racing anyone else that day; I was only trying to finish what I had started years ago,” he said.

After a confidence-boosting finish at Ironman 70.3 Goa in 2024, Singh’s Malaysia finish marked what he called the moment “everything in my life finally fell into place.”