Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
For six years, Sangram Dhondiram Shinde ran in scorching afternoon heat in Beed, endured two failed army recruitment attempts, and fought against the odds of low body weight. On Saturday, he ran one final time at Gokul Ground. He never crossed the finish line.
Sangram, from Marol, Palus taluka, Sangli, had dreamed of joining the army or police to support his farmer parents. Staying in Beed with his professor cousin while pursuing BSc and MSc studies, he applied for railway police recruitment in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The night before the test, he ate very little, woke at 4 am, and reached the ground on a relative's two-wheeler. He ran with all his might to complete the 1,600-metre distance, but collapsed mid-run and never recovered. Fate did not allow him to become a police officer. The incident snatched away the support Sangram's ageing parents had counted on. His father and relatives travelled 400 kilometres from Sangli, having only been told he had fainted. When they arrived at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and learned he had died, they broke down in grief.
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Passed army physical test, but...
Sangram had trained for six months at a Sangli academy and successfully cleared physical tests at army recruitment drives in Kolhapur and another location. However, his weight fell below the required BMI (Body Mass Index), and the army rejected him, asking him to gain weight first.