Sports Consultant Surpreet Singh is a long distance runner who decided to convert his passion into his profession. With his sports company called KhelDwar, he has been associated with the sports industry and managing marathon events for the past eleven years. Surpreet has managed 90+ marathon events so far in his sports journey. He also represented India in the 100 km race in 2017.

Surpreet Singh Khalsa aka ‘Suri Paaji’ is a Sports Event Consultant who is associated with 14 major marathons of the country. He is a long-distance runner and has converted his passion into his profession. Surpreet has been in the sports industry for the past eleven years. He says his alias ‘Suri Paaji’ is very popular and has become a brand in itself.

He also runs his own venture called ‘KhelDwar’, which translates to ‘Gateway to Sports’ wherein he has managed 90+ marathon events and has worked in different positions like route incharge, race director,  race advisor and technical advisor. In fact, he is addressed by people as Suri paaji, India’s youngest race director.  Supreet has managed events across all states except the North-East and the Southern regions. He takes a tour every 15 days to manage events.

Delving into his role as a sports event consultant, Surpreet Singh shares that he handles the technical aspects of marathon events. He goes on to mention the core areas of sports event consultants which include digital heads, marketing, sponsorships, operation management, venue management, and other sectors. His core specialisation is managing marathon events. Though not a certified trainer, Surpreet also guides individuals towards fitness, including his wife who is in the police department.

Highlighting his achievements, Singh mentions that, as a runner, he has represented India in Hong Kong in 2017 in a 100 km race, finishing it in 29 hours. It was the most difficult race of his life. Surpreet has also participated in races across Ladakh, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. He has managed 30+ events as a race director but has worked for 90 events in different roles. For him, it is ‘Abki Baar 100 Paar’ as he is just 10 events away from making a century.

Talking about his journey into sports, Surpreet Singh shares that his inclination towards sports stemmed with his participation in the NCC and his desire to join the Indian Army when he was in college. However, later on, as he used spectacles, he was unable to go for army service and chose sports as his career. However, he shares that way back in 2013-14, there was not much awareness about pursuing sports management as a career.

He started his career with Decathlon, the famous sporting goods retail store and slowly moved to sports events. As a long-distance runner himself, his sports journey kicked off in 2013 and is continuing to date.

Reflecting on his early days, Surpreet says that he was brought up in Ahemdabad where he also completed his schooling in Gujarati medium. Owing to his fluency in Gujarati, he is also addressed as a Gujarati Sardar. Surpreet later completed his graduation in Commerce (Hons.). He couldn’t study further due to his family responsibilities and financial constraints. He then got into a job and started his career as a sports consultant.

When asked about his role models, Singh says he considers himself his role model. He does not believe in seeking inspiration in others, and rather aims to stand on his own two feet and be his own inspiration.

Surpreet finds inspiration in the quote, “लोग काम में से फुर्सत निकालते हैं, मैं फुर्सत में से काम निकालता हूं ।” Explaining the same, he says that he makes sure to take out time from his daily routine and dedicate it to his physical health. He feels that money or fame is of no use, if our health is not taken care of. He takes a nap of 15 minutes everyday in the afternoon.

Singh doesn’t consider any work as small and advises youngsters to follow the same. He feels if we do all kinds of work with the same vigour, we are bound to succeed.

For sports consultants, Surpreet Singh advises them not to expect high packages in the beginning, and rather start from lower positions. He says the sports industry requires experience and one needs to move step-by-step. Singh also suggests them to identify their sports interest and develop a passion towards a particular sport to excel in it.

He never shied away from any kind of work at the beginning of his career, and his attitude and thought pattern took him much ahead in his field. He advises people to believe in themselves quoting, “I can do it, and not that only I can do it.”