Goa IPS officer defeats cancer, completes tough Ironman triathlon race
Panaji (PTI): Setting an example of grit and determination, an Indian Police Service Officer (IPS) from Goa has fought cancer and beaten the odds against him to successfully complete the difficult Ironman triathlon race.
Nidhin Valsan, 36, currently serving as the superintendent of police (crime branch) and handling the sensitive land grab cases in Goa, did not win the triathlon, but he stole the hearts of the audience with his exemplary display of strength and will power.
"I thought if I am able to do this, I will be able to show the world what one can achieve and hopefully show to everyone that cancer is not an impossible disease to fight," Valsan told reporters after finishing the Ironman 70.3 race in Panaji on Sunday while competing with more than 1,400 other participants.
The 2012 batch IPS officer completed the race in 8 hours, 3 minutes and 53 seconds, within the stipulated time, the organisers said.
Valsan said he was last year diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that generally develops in the lympathic system.
The police officer said he did not give up and fought against the disease and was declared "all-clear" in February this year.
"I am fine now," he said.
Valsan said this was the first time he participated in the Ironman race. In 2014, he had participated in a half-marathon in Delhi, he added.
There were a total of 1,450 participants in the Ironman triathlon, which included 1.9 km of open sea swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21 km of run.
Nihal Baig, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, won the race, while defending champion Bisworjit Saikhom of the Indian Army stood second, as per the results declared by the organisers.
#Goa IPS officer #NidhinValsan fought non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the most dangerous cancer types, and a year later, on Sunday, finished the gruelling #Ironman 70.3 Goa race. pic.twitter.com/V8HZgwuhxI
— TOI Goa (@TOIGoaNews) November 14, 2022
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Bangladesh's interim govt revokes ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's passport
Dhaka, Jan 7: Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday said it has revoked the passport of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 96 others over their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and the July killings.
Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's (AL) 16-year regime.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for “crimes against humanity and genocide”.
Addressing a press briefing here, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said, "The Passports Department cancelled passports of 22 people involved in enforced disappearances, while passports of 75 people, including Sheikh Hasina, were revoked due to their involvement in the July killings.”
He, however, did not reveal the names of the remaining individuals whose passports were cancelled, the state-run BSS news agency reported.
