Distance runner Sunil Kumar’s knee injury highlights lack of awareness at grassroots level in the country
Navneet Singh
Uttarakhand’s distance runner Sunil Kumar relentlessly pounded asphalt roads barefoot for seven long years. He won a couple of medals ranging from cross country to marathon for his department—Uttarakhand Police. All was fine till he discovered in 2022 that barefoot running was the main cause of his knee injury.
“I was having recurring knee pain during practice sessions. Sometimes it was very painful,” recalls the 34 year old Kumar hailing from a village near the holy city of Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
Eventually Kumar was forced to quit running! By default, the Uttarakhand Police runner switched to race walking in 2023. Race walking wasn’t hard on his knee, says Olympian and Uttarakhand Police team coach, Manish Rawat.
Secondly, Kumar bought a pair of running shoes. Training and competing in a good pair of shoes was not stressful on his system.
On Monday (September 29) at the 64th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Kumar represented the All India Police team to compete with the elite race walkers the country. He finished a creditable 12th with a time of 1:32:39.28 in the men’s 20km race walk. Eventual winner Nitin Gupta of Indian Army clocked 1:24:22.98.
Kumar was wearing expensive running shoes. “I got two pair of running shoes during a recent tour to the USA,” he says nonchalantly.
Kumar was a member of the All India Police team that competed at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games held in the USA in July. Apart from bringing home five medals in long distance events, including two gold medals, Kumar made it a point to buy good quality running shoes. “I’m feeling comfortable in these running shoes,” he adds.
Son of a small-time farmer, Kumar joined the Uttarakhand State Police Department through general quota in 2012. The Spartan lifestyle made him rough and tough.
He often worked with his parents on the farm, which gave him an edge over the others when it came to testing endurance over long distances. In 2015 he got a chance to compete in the departmental cross-country event. He was far ahead of others. He became a member of the Uttarakhand Police cross country squad that won team bronze in 2016 and silver in 2017 at the All-India Police Meet.
Marathon running
It further fuelled Kumar’s passion for long distance running as he earned respect from his seniors in the department. He was exempted from general duty. Kumar couldn’t recall how he switched to marathon running.
Knee Pain
But finished a creditable fourth on his marathon debut at the 2018 All India Police Meet. Since he was practicing and competing barefoot, he was sidelined due to knee injury in 2019. Despite niggles he managed to win bronze in the marathon race at the 2020 All India Police meet.
It further aggravated his knee pain. “I wasn’t used to running in shoes, which was why I ran barefoot,” he explains. “But I learned the hard way.” Medical expert he visited advised him to avoid running on hard surfaces and wear good quality running shoes. Between 2020 to 2022 he struggled and eventually planned to call it a day.
Race Walking
As destiny would have it, he switched to race walking and won bronze in men’s 20km race walking at the 2023 All India Police Meet.
A year later he claimed gold and was selected for the 2025World Police and Fire Games in the USA. Medals at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games have also earned Kumar departmental promotion.
It has also given a big boost to his confidence. He has already mapped out his plans for the 2026 season. “I’ve good endurance. I need to add a bit of speed sessions to training to catch up with the leading race walkers in future,” he says of his future plans.
The 2026 season assumes importance as it features two major international events—Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Japan. It will be interesting to follow Kumar’s journey in 2026. In the race to the podium, Kumar will be up against a group of elite race walkers aspiring to earn a spot for the Commonwealth and Asian Games. “I will do my best. There is no injury issue. Moreover, I’ve a good pair of running shoes for practice,” he says with a warm smile.
ENDS
