By IPL standards, the recent event in Mumbai attracted a modest crowd of around 2,000 attendees, but their enthusiasm was palpable. As participants engaged in various fitness challenges—running, pushing sleds, performing burpees, lunges, and lifting weights—the atmosphere was electric, enhanced by cheers from family and friends in the stands. “My friends also made posters. It was like being at a party, but with a workout,” said Nayanika Chatterjee, a Pune-based animator and a participant in the growing trend of Hyrox races.
Fitness is increasingly popular in India, but it has seldom evolved into a competitive mass sport beyond marathons. The Hyrox event shows promising signs of becoming a new fixture in the fitness landscape. Launched in Germany in 2017, Hyrox consists of an 8-kilometer indoor race broken up by different fitness challenges such as lunges and burpees. The Mumbai event in September 2025 marked Hyrox’s debut in India.
Following the Mumbai event, the number of participants at the subsequent Hyrox race in Delhi increased to 2,300, with a second Mumbai event attracting 3,350 participants. In Bengaluru, around 8,200 people registered for this year’s race, including badminton star P.V. Sindhu, who participated as a Puma ambassador, cheered by Indian cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Upcoming events in Delhi are already indicating high registration numbers, with over 8,000 expected to join in July.
Chatterjee, a crossfit enthusiast, trained for a month and took time off work to participate in her second Hyrox race in Bengaluru because she “wanted that experience again.” Anmol Gupta, a Delhi-based crossfit trainer, noted that the number of participants he coaches for these races has tripled since last year. “I feel like one of the reasons Hyrox got popular is because the entry barrier is so low. One does not need a former event participation certificate or any specific skill,” he explained, contrasting it to other sports like football, which require familiarity with the game’s rules.
Hyrox events do not impose a time limit on participants; seasoned athletes can complete the race in under 90 minutes, while beginners might take up to three hours. “It definitely requires a lot of endurance because of the format,” Gupta said, emphasizing the need for special preparation. The growth of fitness studios offering Hyrox training facilities across India has also been noteworthy. These studios do not feature traditional gym equipment but instead replicate a Hyrox circuit, allowing participants to simulate actual race conditions. In the Delhi-NCR region, there are 11 such gyms, while Mumbai has 13, and Bengaluru boasts 16. Cities like Goa, Hyderabad, and Chennai also have a few recognized studios.
Hyrox challenges not only cardiovascular capacity but also muscular endurance and strength. Gupta noted that many regular gym-goers use the event to gauge their overall fitness levels. For Sahil Sawhney (41), a participant from Gurgaon, Hyrox represents a pinnacle of fitness. He struggled with weight management until two years ago but became dedicated to his health in 2025, reducing from 110 kg to an ideal weight of 80 kg. “I want to see how far I’ve come,” he stated, having signed up for the upcoming July event in Delhi. Sawhney trains at a Hyrox-certified studio twice a week, balancing this with strength and stamina workouts at his regular gym for the other five days. He highlighted the high cost of specialized training, with individual sessions priced at Rs 500.
Sindhu, in a statement released through a representative, remarked, “Badminton has always been my world, but Hyrox is completely different. There is no opponent across the net, just you, the clock, and eight stations…. I won’t pretend it was easy, but that is exactly what drew me to it.”
