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Fastest Gurkha Runner Accepts Soh Rui Yong’s Challenge To Beat His 2.4km Timing

Boon Hun

2021-09-15 , 3:20 pm

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d probably know about the Soh Rui Yong open challenge saga.

In case you’ve really been living under a rock, here’s a brief flashback:

On 4 Sep, 30-year-old Soh Rui Yong, two-time SEA Games Champion and Singapore’s resident Sonic broadcast his timing for the Pocari Sweat Singapore 2.4km Challenge.

His 6 minutes and 53.18 seconds timing met with mixed reactions, probably because of his last sentence.
“Somehow, some people still think their “army/commando bmt mate who smokes” ran faster,” Soh wrote, adding a clown emoji at the end.
He emerged again amidst the backlash to clarify his statement and challenged commandoes (both current and former) to beat his timing at the next Pocari Sweat 2.4km Challenge.
Soon after, the prize pool grew, as though he is afraid no one would be willing to show up.
Soh also became a “marketing genius” and will, no doubt, be highly sought after in the near future.

Which brings us to today, where a brave Gurkha stepped forward to challenge this titanic character.

Fastest Gurkha Runner Accepts Soh Rui Yong’s Challenge To Beat His 2.4km Timing

In case you’re unaware, the Gurkha Contingent is a line department in the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and regarded as absolute monsters in the physical department.

And Soh has invited the fastest 2.4km runner in the Gurkha Contingent to challenge his record.

According to Soh’s Facebook post, Subas Gurung holds the 2.4km record for the Gurkha Contingent at 6 mins 58 seconds.

After doing 60 push-ups and 60 sit-ups.

@subac406Ippt new record official time 6min 58 Sec breaking 7min barriers 💪♬ ROCKSTAR – DaBaby, Roddy Ricch

So it’s pretty safe to say that he has a decent shot at breaking Soh’s record.

However.

Gurung Won’t Be Able To Win Prizes

According to Soh, Gurung will not be eligible to win the prize pot because he isn’t a Singaporean.

“Subas is Nepalese, and hence won’t qualify for most of the prizes in the pot that are for Singaporean challengers only.”

The Gurkhas, Soh said, do not go around “telling people how good they are”, which is why he invited Gurung to the race, to give him “a platform to show all of Singapore what he’s capable of”.

Soh added that he appreciates Gurung coming forward to give people a show even if he will not get anything if he wins.

You can read his full post below:

Looking For Sponsors For Gurung

In Soh’s latest Facebook post, he explains why Gurung is not eligible for the prize pool.

Pointing out that the initial challenge was to “debunk myths” that below-7-minute timings for 2.4km are common in Singapore army camps, Soh said that the initial prize sponsors agreed to the prizes “based on the original challenge”.

The terms cannot be changed unless the sponsors agree.

He is, however, looking for sponsors to give prizes to Gurung if he runs below 7 minutes at the challenge.

You can check out his Facebook post below:

In Other Words

The prize pool is still up for grabs.

So no matter whether you’re a gung-ho commando or Encik’s grandmother, you still have your shot at the upgraded prize pool.

Click here to register for the race.

On a separate note, at least 1,997 runners have signed up for the October event that’ll take place at Kallang practice track.

Fastest Gurkha Runner Accepts Soh Rui Yong’s Challenge To Beat His 2.4km Timing

Fastest Gurkha Runner Accepts Soh Rui Yong’s Challenge To Beat His 2.4km Timing

Gurung Won’t Be Able To Win Prizes

Looking For Sponsors For Gurung

In Other Words

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