Bharat Ruhil, sponsored by Victorious Endeavours turned in his best display of his triathlete career clocking 4 hours, 51 minutes and 59 seconds at the 2024 Ironman 70.3 held in Warsaw Poland in June.

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The 29-year-old Bharat, from Rohad, Haryana, also had the best timings among the four Indian triathletes who competed in the event finishing way ahead of CS Siddarth (7:00.41), Sandeep Patil (7:21.52) and Kathiresan Ponnuswamy (did not finish)

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“It was a beautiful experience, the support all athletes got from the spectators was amazing,” Bharat said.

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Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in an Ironman Triathlon.

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In the three 1.9 km swim, Bharat’s timings was 00:37.20 and in the 90km bike he clocked 2:30.06 before finishing the 21 km run in 1:37.15.

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“The encouragement and support from Victorious Endeavours was a big boost and it inspired me to give my best performance,” he said.

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Bharat, who resides in Delhi, is confident of improving upon his timings as he competes in more such races. He has been training hard with limited resources and his gruelling schedule begins at 2:30 am daily. “That is the best time when I can run or cycle peacefully,” he says. He goes for his swimming sessions alternately at Talkatora and Siri Fort

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Far away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, many youngsters are trying to carve a niche for themselves by indulging in a simple task of running. The Vasai-Virar Marathon organised by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation has been a boon for them to pursue their dreams of donning India colours. Most of them are from humble backgrounds and belong to the tribal belt of Palghar and Vasai. Victorious Endeavours decided to pitch in the 2023 edition by providing Adidas running shoes to the boys and girls under-18 and under-16 winners besides giving them certificates and nutritional supplements. The top three finishers in all the age group races below 18 were also given nutritional supplements

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Atul Chibhde who won the 11km boys u-18 race and Aditi Patil, winner of the u-18 girls 5 km race along with the under-16 5 km winners Daksh Kadu and Soniya Padawale were the young athletes rewarded by Victorious Endeavours.

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The Vasai-Virar Marathon is one of the top national-level running events in the country that has a participation of 20,000 in various race categories apart from the 42.195 and 21 km races. The event is held under the aegis of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the marathon routes are measured and certified by the Association of International Marathons (AIMS) and also certified by World Athletics, the world body of track and field. Managed by Aryanz Sports PR & Events, the marathon has also been graced by sporting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Dhanraj Pillay, Anju Bobby George, P T Usha, Shiny Wilson, Dutee Chand, Avinash Sable, wrestlers Sushil Kumar & Yogeshwar Dutt, archer Deepika Kumari and Avinash Sable in the past. The 11th edition of the marathon was flagged off by Hangzhou Asian Games multiple medallist Parul Chaudhary. Tirtha Pun of the Gorkha Regiment won the men's 42.195km race clocking 2 hours, 21 minutes and 48 seconds while Ashvini Jadhav won the women's event in 03:06:38.

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The Harris Shield is a globally acclaimed inter-school tournament that has stood the test of time and has been the stepping stone for many famous names of Mumbai and Indian cricket. Right from Vijay Merchant in the 1920s to Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patil, Ravi Shastri, Chandrakant Pandit, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar, Wasim Jaffer, Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane to Prithvi Shaw, Yashaswi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan all have played and made a mark in the Under-16 tournament that completed 127 years in December 2023. This year 160 schools from Mumbai participated in the tournament and the title was won by Swami Vivekanand International School, Borivali, defeating General Education Academy, Chembur at the Brabourne Stadium. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was the chief guest at the final. Victorious Endeavours rewarded the top players of the final with full cricket kits and VE trophies to the Best Batsman, Best Bowler, Best All-Rounder and Best Fielder.

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Victorious Endeavours Awards for best players of Harris Shield final

• Best Batsman: Vedant Nirmal (Swami Vivekanand)
• Best Bowler: Anuj Kore (General Education)
• Best Fielder: Rohan Patil (General Education)
• Best All-Rounder: Yash Jambhulkar (Swami Vivekanand)

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Another event where Victorious Endeavours presented cricket bags and trophies was the Giles Shield, which is an equally popular inter-schools cricket tournament. Both tournaments are conducted by the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) under the aegis of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). This partnership has been going strong for 122 years with the 2023-24 edition final being held at the prestigious Wankhede Stadium. Modern English School, Kandivali ruled the roost defeating Oxford Public School, Chembur in the final.

Former Mumbai captain, selector and administrator Milind Rege praised the organisers for carrying on the rich tradition and providing an apt platform for school children to showcase their cricketing skills. Popular television actor Mohsin Khan was the guest of honour while Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Ajinkya Naik, MCA junior selector Deepak Patil, former international umpire Suresh Shastri and MSSA cricket secretary Nadeem Memon graced the occasion. Victorious Endeavours directors Ms. Dimple Joshi and Mr Jaideep Marar presented the VE cricket kits and trophies to the best players of the final.

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Victorious Endeavours Awards for best performers in final

• Best Batsman: Arham Jain (Oxford Public)
• Best Bowler: Jasmeet Singh (Modern English)
• Best Fielder: Saif Ali (Oxford Public)
• Best All-Rounder: Shahid Khan (Oxford Public

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Victorious Endeavours association with the inter-school cricket events extended to the girls tournament - the MSSA's Manoramabai Apte U-16 tournament that has become popular among young girls aspiring to make it big in the sport.

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Shardashram Vidyamandir English, Dadar triumphed over Parag English School, Bhandup in the final played at the Brabourne Stadium. It was just apt that women's cricket legend and former India captain Diana Edulji tossed the coin before the final. It was the second title on the trot and sixth overall for the Shardashram girls.

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Mrs Madhumati Lele-Shrivastava, President of the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and Member of the Women's Premier League (WPL) Committee was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. Individual awards for best players of the final were sponsored by Victorious Endeavours and the girls were presented with Cricket kits and trophies by VE directors Dimple Joshi and Jaideep Marar.

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Players of finals awards

• Best Batsman: Ira Jadhav (Shardashram);
• Best Bowler: Madhura Dhadke (Shardashram);
• Best Fielder: Laxmi Saroj (Parag)

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Cash awards were presented to Secretary’s XI and Manager’s XI match players at the Siri Fort Complex, New Delhi on the occasion of Republic Day. The match played between staff members was a resounding success, fostering a sense of companionship and happiness among the participants and spectators alike.

Rahul Mehta of Victorious Endeavours expressed his satisfaction with the event, stating, “The Republic Day Cricket Match at Siri Fort Sports Complex exemplifies the spirit of unity and friendly competition among our dedicated staff. I am delighted to see that are some talented players within our team, and the cash awards are a small token of appreciation for their efforts.”

Similar association took place during the inaugural day of the 2nd Delhi Cup cricket tournament involving four teams: Judges XI, Leiutenant General XI, Commissioner of Police XI and Media XI.

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