New Delhi: On Monday, August 15th, 2022, the curtains came down on The Great India Run 2022 amid much fanfare in a glittering ceremony here at Nehru Park.
The relay-run, which covered a distance of 829 kilometres and travelled all the way from Lal Chowk, Srinagar, to New Delhi, culminated in the presence of more than 500 fans and onlookers who rejoiced at the venue decorated with Indian flags. The mood was patriotic and not a single person present at the venue was without a tricolour in their hands. The Great India Run, an iTV and iTV Foundation initiative, was organised to commemorate the 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, and the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign saw 11 bravehearts run with the tricolour in their hands for 10 consecutive days, spreading the message of unity and brotherhood.
The culmination ceremony was attended by Honorable Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Honorable Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha Shri Kartikeya Sharma, Honorable Member of Lok Sabha Shri Manoj Tiwari and host of sporting luminaries including Chetan Sharma, BCCI selection committee chairman, Dr. Deepa Malik, Paralympic games silver medalist and Padmashree awardee, Dr. Sunita Godara, Asian marathon champion, Rohit Tokas 2022 CWG bronze medalist, Saba Karim former Indian cricketer, veteran Indian shooter Samresh Jung, Rajkumar Sharma Dronacharya awardee & coach of Virat Kohli amongst others.
During the closing ceremony, dignitaries and guests praised the runners’ efforts and thanked the iTV Network for organising the run. Kartikeya Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP, paid tribute to the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign and praised the runners, without whom the Great India Run would not have been possible.
“The Great India Run 2022 has been a historic event and created a record of sorts, as never before has any run of this magnitude flagged-off from Lal Chowk, Kashmir. With all my heart, I congratulate the 11 bravehearts and ultra-runners led by Arun Bhardwaj for having undertaken this challenge and completing the gruelling 829km run from Kashmir to Delhi with the Tricolour in hand, spreading the message of Unity and Integrity to their fellow countrymen. It is by no means a mean task to have run from Kashmir to Delhi and I appreciate their efforts and believe their efforts will leave a long-lasting memory in the minds of the entire country and the vision of Ek Desh, Ek Samvidhan, Ek Jhanda, Har Ghar Tiranga will be very soon realised.” Shri Kartikeya Sharma said.
Talking during the historic effort, Dr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the event and said, “It is indeed a wonderful initiative and I would like to thank Kartikeya Ji and ITV Group for this wonderful initiative. I am quite sure this will help a lot in not only promoting running as a sport in the country but also spreading a positive message of unity and integrity.”
The run, which built on the success of the first chapter of the Great India Run held in 2016, was flagged-off from Lal Chowk, Kashmir by His Excellency, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha and Shri Kartikeya Sharma, and travelled through Banihal, Patnitop, Mansar Lake, Dinanagar, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Ambala Cantt., Panipat, and Sonipat before finally finishing in Delhi. Meanwhile, the second leg of The Great India Run 2022 was flagged-off from Ambala Cantt. by the former Union Minister of India, Shri Venod Sharma, the Honourable Mayor of Ambala, Shri Shakti Rani Sharma, and Shri Kartikeya Sharma.