Nihal Baig is an Indian athlete and aerospace engineer. He won a silver medal in the Mumbai Marathon and finished first in the Ironman 70.3 Goa.
Wiki/Biography
Nihal Baig was born in Hyderabad and grew up in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. He completed his education from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ponda. In 2011, he pursued a 5-year integrated bachelor’s and master’s program in aviation, aviation, aerospace science and technology from the Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT), one of the most prestigious technical institutes in India. He currently serves as a senior manager at top investment finance firm Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).
appearance
Height (approximately): 6′2″
Weight (approximately): 60kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father, Major Subedar Ahmed Baig, served in the Indian Army. There is not much information about his mother. He has an older brother. In an interview, Nihal Baig spoke about his father’s thoughts on his victory in the amateur men’s category of the Mumbai Marathon in January 2023, saying:
Dad is really happy. He called everyone and sent them messages. Just spreading the news that his son’s grades are so good. Even now, after the game, he’s still actively doing it. “
Nihal Baig’s parents
Nihal Baig with his mother and brother (left)
wife and children
Nihal Baig is unmarried.
religion
Nihal Baig believes in Hinduism.
Profession
Nihal Baig’s interest in sports began in 2011 when he joined the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. His main focus was studies, but at his college, undergraduates had to choose an extracurricular activity from sports, social service and the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Nihal Baig decided to choose sports as his extracurricular activity. He was an ardent marathon runner at his college and the best athlete among the 16 IITs including his college. Nihal Baig has won several medals in middle distance running (400m-5000m) in inter-IIT sports meets and events and as he mentioned in an interview,
Actually at first I wanted to be a sprinter. But I realized right away that to be such a sprinter you need to be talented. I’m not that person. Then I tried other distances 800m, 1500m and 5000m and I realized I was pretty good at it, I was competitive, but that’s what you see most in the class. I always wanted to be the top student in my class. To be honest, I didn’t think much about school sports. I mean, I ran the 100 meters and the 200 meters at the school track meet, but even then, I wasn’t the fastest runner in the class. I may not be the most talented, but I can work very hard. Becoming a good runner requires hard work and perseverance, and I was able to do that even in college. When I did this, I realized that I was one of the fastest middle distance runners in college. When I exercise, it doesn’t hinder my studies too much, because I guess, I’ve always been a smart student. I used to grasp things very quickly. I would spend hours mastering these theories. This is not a question of managing grades and sports. Overall, the atmosphere at IITs is that you have to do something or the other throughout the day. For me, it’s research or sport. I’ve used to feel really tired after working out, but I’ve never felt like it hindered me in any way. “
The 2020 New Zealand Triathlon 70.3 World Championships have been canceled due to COVID-19. Nihal Baig has chosen to participate in the 2021 middle-distance running competition in Utah, USA.
If TMM 2021 is held as scheduled, I hope to participate in the May competition. “
Nihal Baig joined Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. in May 2014 and worked there as a summer intern for three months. In August 2016, he joined Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) as a risk management analyst. He is the former General Secretary for Sports at IIT Powai and the former General Coordinator of the 50th IIT Sports Meet at IIT Powai. He currently serves as a senior researcher at Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). In an interview, Nihal revealed that he convinced his father of his passion and now wants to strike a balance between work and sports.
I had this conversation with my dad. He wasn’t sure. But when I told him how serious I was and that this is what I wanted to do, he was totally supportive of me. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to work around my job. After running a half marathon for an hour and twenty minutes, I felt that I could balance training and work and start competing seriously. In Pune, I had a lot of time in the morning. I logged in around 12 noon. I have enough time in the morning to exercise, have a good meal, stretch, and recover. Usually workout in the morning and cross training or strength training in the evening. Everything is at home. I do a lot of movement and strength training and bodyweight training at home. If I were training for a marathon, I would train every day, but in a triathlon, it’s 12 sessions a week, plus 3-4 strength training sessions, plus lots of movement and stretching every day. “
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Nihal Baig won the third Ironman 70.3 Goa race in 2022 with a time of 04:32:05.
Nihal Baig wins 2023 Ironman 70.3 Goa title
- On October 2, 2019, he finished second in Ironman 70.3 Goa 2019.
Nihal Baig finished second in Ironman 70.3 Goa 2019
- In November 2022, he took first place in Ironman 70.3 Goa 2022.
Nihal Baig takes first place in Ironman 70.3 Goa 2022
- He won 5 medals including 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze and I was adjudged the best athlete of all IITs at his comprehensive convocation ceremony.
- On January 24, 2021, he finished third overall in the 10 km cross-country (state selection) held at Shree Shiv Chattrapati Krida Nagri Balewadi in Pune with a time of 33 minutes and 29 seconds.
Nihal Baig finished 3rd in Pune District 10k Cross Country (State Trials) 2021
Facts/Trivia
- In fact, Nihal says he can’t imagine going back to a regular office job.
I thought about, honestly, I couldn’t do a 9 to 5 job. I still go to the office occasionally so I can stay connected with regular people who may not share my passion. But I personally see myself staying connected to sports for the long term. I want to keep competing as long as possible. I don’t know how things are going to go, but now I can’t see a stopping point. It’s just that this journey is interesting to me. “
- Nihal Baig suffered injuries to the fibula and tibia of his lower leg. He underwent surgery to repair hernia. He mentioned in an interview,
I had some damage to both my fibula and tibia in my lower legs, so I had to stop running completely and even stop cycling to a certain extent during this time. But once I was fully recovered, it wasn’t that difficult to get back to training. I’ve always been very self-motivated, so I’ve never felt any impediment to training regularly. I was diagnosed with a hernia about 7 months ago and later had hernia repair surgery on April 10th. Recovery was not as smooth as I expected (basically from the knowledge I gained from reading about post-operative recovery and from doctors and physical therapists). For the first three months I felt worse than before the surgery. I’ve been in contact with my physical therapist to find out what’s going on and how soon I can return to training. Everything is gray, some days you feel okay, you try to exercise, it works great, and then suddenly you feel worse. You’re not sure whether to listen to your mind, your body, your physical therapist, or your friends and family. ”
- In an interview, when asked about the most memorable day in his sporting career, Nihal Baig
December, IIT Games 2013, Guwahati: 5000m race I am used to running on a grass track in Mumbai, so the rough terrain of Guwahati led me to wrap my toes with bandages. I maintained a steady pace and completed all laps within 85 seconds, but on the last lap I passed the person in front and won the race by one second. I completed the lap in 62 seconds and my toes were bleeding. The cold weather eased the pain. “
- He is the founder of the IIT Bombay Cycling Club. To stay fit and practice, he used to commute via hybrid bike,
After graduation and working, I had no plans to seriously engage in sports. It’s still important, but I just think I have to stay healthy and focus on my job. That’s what I did my first year on the job. I also knew I couldn’t run track again, so I thought I’d stay healthy and maybe run a half marathon. I also own a bicycle because I’ve always wanted to ride it to work. Since I get a good cardio workout from running, I thought I could replicate this fitness effect. ”
- In an interview, when asked about the toughest match of his life, Nihal Beg said:
The goal time I set for myself was 3:05 (Boston Marathon qualifying time) and I was recovering from a fibular stress fracture so not sure if I would be able to do that because of the pain after every run appearing again. The pain was excruciating the night before the race and I had to be mentally prepared to run the next morning. I ran wearing muscle spray and compression socks and by 28km into the race my pain was gone. When I reached the 30K mark, I felt a surge of power that allowed me to finish the marathon in 3:03:37. ”
- In an interview, Nihal Baig spoke about being a role model to the youth and said
I have friends from college who stopped running after they started working. Some of them have been restarted (run). They said they were motivated by seeing my performance and achievements. I’m also able to keep them on track, which feels good,” he said. Nihal plans to double down on his athletic pursuits. “I’ve actually started coaching. I coach a lot of runners and triathletes. It also helps me because I can share my knowledge and learn from their habits and problems they face.This is actually what I want to do [in the] long. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education