What do you call someone who’s a 4th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, trained in Krav Maga and Okinawan Karate, and who cycled solo across the entire North East in record time? You call him unstoppable. And his name is Sanjay Bahadur, an IRS officer of the 1989 batch.
When you picture a senior IRS officer, you might imagine a stack of files, a neat desk, and a suit and tie. But Sanjay Bahadur breaks that image with a single kick, quite literally. A martial artist with international credentials, he didn’t just pick up martial arts as a hobby; he lived it, breathing discipline into every punch and block. From earning his 4th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo to mastering the Israeli close-combat system Krav Maga and the traditional Okinawan Karate, Sanjay’s journey in martial arts is anything but ordinary.
But the spirit that pushed him to the dojo floor every morning didn’t stop at the training hall door. It pushed him onto the open roads of India’s wildest, greenest corner: the North East. With nothing but his cycle and a mind tuned to the rhythm of the road, Sanjay pedalled solo across the region, covering distances that would make seasoned cyclists pause. Hills, rain, rough terrain… nothing could hold him back. Each mile told a story of pushing limits, of swapping a comfortable office chair for an unforgiving mountain trail.
In this final part of his exclusive video interview with Indian Masterminds, Sanjay opens up about what drives him to take on these adventures. He doesn’t see strength as just muscle; it’s an attitude, a choice to keep moving when the world says stop. His life is proof that true power comes when you tie your shoelaces, strap on your helmet, and step onto the road alone.
