Want to make HYROX the biggest endurance fitness event in India, says Deepak Raj

New Delhi: With the sun shining brightly in New Delhi for a change, the Yashobhoomi convention centre turned into a hub of adrenaline and athleticism as HYROX, the global fitness racing event, made its much-anticipated arrival in the national capital.

Just months after its first race in Mumbai attracted 1,650 participants, Saturday’s event in New Delhi saw over 2,600 participants from across India and overseas be the participants. The 50% surge in turnout for the first of its kind competition in New Delhi led to Deepak Raj, Country Head of HYROX India, stating that they want to make this the biggest endurance fitness event in the country.

“We want to make HYROX the biggest endurance fitness event in India. I understand there are a lot of them, but we are on our way. We are really confident given the growth. We had 50% growth since our event in Mumbai to now.”

“So, taking to Bengaluru and all across the country, we believe we’ll get there very soon. So, that’s the vision of taking it to the different places and educating the masses about what this sport is about, how inclusive it is, and people willing to give it a shot,” said Raj in an exclusive conversation with IANS on Saturday.

Similar views were echoed by Karthik Balagopalan, the Managing Director of PUMA India. “It’s amazing. I think we started off in Bombay a couple of months ago and the response was phenomenal. To see that 50% increase in Delhi is again, just proof that India needs HYROX, and we’re very, very excited that we were finally able to get this partnership here,” he said in another exclusive conversation with IANS.

For the uninitiated, HYROX features a unique blend of 8 x 1 km runs with 8 functional workouts like SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jumps, Rowing, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges, and Wall Balls. Moreover, it has competitions in four categories – singles, doubles, relay, and pro.

With 30% women participants, and competitors ranging in age from 18 to 75, the fitness event is proving to be not just challenging, but incredibly inclusive. “So, we have a singles event where you can do all of the whole race on your own or you can do doubles, you can do a bit of shared thing or you can do a relay with four people splitting the work, right?”

“There are different weight classes, so there’s lots of ways to get into the sport when it comes to starting with the sport, and experimenting. If you like it, you can stay on. So, it’s very inclusive in that manner,” added Raj.

PUMA has been the market leader in the sportswear market in India since 2019, barring the Covid-19 year. But of late, it has been increasingly involved in fitness-driven events and sponsoring marathons.

Quizzed on if this is a part of a broader strategy to reposition itself more toward fitness and lifestyle, rather than just be into traditional sportswear, Balagopalan said, “For us, I mean, at least, we are really focused on, let’s say, establishing ourselves as a sports first brand and something like Hyrox is our point of view when it comes to training.”

“Our running side of things, we relaunched it about six years back and it’s doing exceptionally well. So I think going forward, we really want to cement ourselves as a leading sports brand, and this is helping us do that.”

“I would love to say, it has to be our people, as they really are our winning edge. But no, our belief that has always been anchored is that India needs an India for India strategy. That’s what we’ve done, and we have been the most locally relevant, fastest and hungriest brand with the best team.”

IANS