Devendro, Poonam get Vishisht Seva Medal

Olympian boxer Naib Subedar Devendro Singh and Mount Everest summiteer Major Poonam Sangwan were Saturday presented the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for their distinguished service at an investiture ceremony at the Eastern Army headquarters here Saturday.

At 23, Devendro Singh was the youngest and the only Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) among the eight army personnel who received the VSM.

With a single brass star shining on his shoulder-flap denoting his recently promoted status as a JCO and with a VSM pinned above his left breast pocket, Devendro looked every bit the star sportsman-soldier a nation would be proud to honour.

Soft spoken and otherwise reticent in demeanour, Devendro had lost a hard fought quarter-final bout in the light flyweight category against Irish boxer Paddy Barnes in the 2012 Olympics.

Major Poonam Sangwan was among the five officers of an all-woman Indian Army Everest Expedition Team that scaled the world's highest peak by the traditional Southern (Nepal) route, deemed the toughest of the climb routes, in May 2012.

Major Poonam received the VSM for her feat from Lt. Gen MMS Rai, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command.