Gallantry awardee soldier loses battle to cancer

A gallantry awardee soldier of the Army, who ran a marathon despite battling cancer, died on Thursday, officials said.

Col N S Bal, who had earned a Shaurya Chakra for an operation in Kashmir, breathed his last at a hospital in Bengaluru, they said.

"Carried his buddy's load till he dropped. Braved bullets, led fearlessly. Treated cancer an irritant nay toyed with it. Gave up his hand, then his command, then life, all with that twinkle n smile. None can fill this gap. Long live Bal, in your tribe. #IndianArmy #ParaSF," Army spokesman Col Aman Anand tweeted.

"He ran marathons with cancer in his body, he practiced military routine with just left hand even before Cancer took the right one away just to remain ahead of his enemy. See the smile on his face, this was taken yesterday and he left us today. Long live Bal, your tribe live," he said in another tweet.