Max Bupa and Indian Olympians inspire the nation to Walk for Health

Celebrated Indian Olympic Walkers including Punjab born Khushbir Kaur &Haryana born Sandeep Kumar will lead the first of its kind 33 day walkathon in India

Chandigarh, January 10, 2016: In keeping with its commitment to help people lead healthier and more successful lives, Max Bupa Health Insurance has announced the fourth edition of its flagship event in multiple cities. Max Bupa Walk for Health is a first of its kind initiative which has been inspiring families to walk more to enhance their overall health and well-being. The event engages people from all walks of life including school children, walking communities, colleges and corporates.

This year, with an attempt to inspire the entire nation to walk more and discover the multiple benefits of walking, Max Bupa is hosting a unique 33 day walking event which will touch upon 15 cities including Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, and will finally culminate in Delhi on 14th February. Joining the cause and leading the walking movement are noted Indian Olympic Walkers, namely, Manish Rawat, Sandeep Kumar, Gurmeet Singh and Khushbir Kaur.

With the support of these noted Olympians, Max Bupa aims to mobilize 30,000 families across various cities, towns and villages to walk more, and drive awareness about the innumerable health benefits of walking among Indians. The 33 day event was flagged off today in Mumbai by the leadership team of Max Bupa including its Chairman Rajesh Sud, MD & CEO Ashish Mehrotra along with Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur.

Talking about the fourth edition of Max Bupa Walk for Health, Ashish Mehrotra, MD and CEO, Max Bupa said, “As a committed health insurer, it is our endeavour to help our customers, partners, employees and the public at large to lead healthier and more successful lives. Over the past three years, we have successfully encouraged over 60,000 families to incorporate more walking into their daily lives. We are back with a unique format this year to inspire the entire nation to take a conscious step towards a healthier lifestyle. Adding impetus to the initiative are celebrated Indian Olympians, who will help us reach out to over 30, 000 families across cities, towns and villages during the course of this 33 day walkathon. “

Khushbir Kaur, celebrated Indian athlete from Punjab said, “I was the first girl from my village to take up sports and walking as a profession. I had been encouraged by my mother to follow my passion for walking. Today I realize how important it is to keep yourself fit and healthy. As I travel to different places across the world for walking, I find people outside of India more conscious and cautious of their health. I therefore am happy to be a part of this wonderful platform of Max Bupa’s Walk for Health. The chance to go across 15 cities during this initiative, and to spread the message of healthy habits that will bring about a change in the lives of the people, is very exciting and I look forward to it!”

Gurmeet Singh, current Indian record holder in the 20 km race walk, Indian Grand Prix I, Patiala, said, “Walking is not only a passion for me but also my profession. That apart I strongly feel walking keeps one healthy in both body and mind. I have felt more energized and at the top of my health ever since I discovered walking. I congratulate Max Bupa for its effort at bringing more consciousness to Indians on better health. I am sure this 33 day walkathon will make a lot of difference in helping people lead a healthy and a happy life.”

Khushbir Kaur, 22 years, hails from Punjab. She is a silver medalist at 2014 Asian Games and is the first Indian Woman to win a medal in this category. Khushbir bettered her own National Record thrice over the last two years.  Khushbir lost her father at an early age, and is the sole bread winner of her family. Sandeep Kumar, 29 years, hails from Haryana and is the current National Record Holder in 50km event. Sandeep finished 4th at 2014 Asian Games, South Korea and has qualified for both 20km and 50km event for 2016 Olympics. Manish Singh Rawat, 25 years, hails from Uttarkhand and has qualified for Rio Olympics in both 20km and 50km event. Manish is a gold medalist at the 2015 World Police Games, USA and has qualified for both 20km and 50km event for the 2016 Olympics. Gurmeet Singh, 31 years hails from Punjab and has represented India at 2012 Race Walking World Cup (50km event). Gurmeet has participated at 2015 IAAF World Championships, China. He is yet to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

Max Bupa offers quality health insurance services through a dedicated team of over 1400 people and its network of 26 offices across 16 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Kolkata, Patna, Goa and Jodhpur.

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About Max Bupa Health Insurance

Max Bupa is a, 74:26, joint venture between Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate with expertise in life insurance and health care and Bupa, a leading global health and care company with 65 years of healthcare knowledge. Max Bupa brings together a combination of Bupa’s health insurance and customer service expertise with Max India’s understanding and experience of the Indian health and insurance sectors. Max Bupa offers quality health insurance services through a dedicated team of over 1400 people and its network of 26 offices across 16 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Kolkata, Patna, Goa and Jodhpur. Max Bupa offers individual and family oriented health insurance policies for Indians across all age groups. Max Bupa has a direct working relationship with a network of over 3500 top quality hospitals and healthcare providers, with plans to extend its network of hospitals to other parts of the country. Max Bupa services customers directly without third party involvement. For more details about the company and a list of all our network hospitals please visit www.maxbupa.com.

About Max Group

Max Group is a leading Indian multi-business corporate with a commanding presence in the Life Insurance, Healthcare and Health Insurance sectors. In the financial year 2015, the Group recorded a consolidated turnover of Rs 14,877 Cr. It has a total customer base of over 7.5 million, nearly 300 offices spread across India and people strength of around 17,000 as on 31st March 2015. Max India Limited is a widely held company, listed on the BSE and the NSE. Its founder sponsor Analjit Singh holds 40.5% stake in the company. Other shareholders include some of the world’s best Institutional Investors such as Goldman Sachs, Temasek, IFC (Washington), Fidelity and New York Life.

About Bupa

Bupa’s purpose is longer, healthier, happier lives.

As a leading global health and care company, we offer health insurance, medical subscription and other health and care funding products; we run care homes, retirement and care villages, primary care, diagnostic and wellness centres, hospitals and dental clinics. We also provide workplace health services, home healthcare, health assessments and long-term condition management services.

We have 29m customers in 190 countries. With no shareholders, we reinvest our profits to provide more and better healthcare and fulfil our purpose. We employ almost 80,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Poland, New Zealand and Chile, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the USA.

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