India, a country of 1.25 billion people, has achieved a new feat in the Guinness World Records as 2,353 people, led by former Bollywood actress and fitness specialist Shilpa Shetty Kundra, held the abdominal plank position for 60 seconds simultaneously on Sunday.

The initiative was organised by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company at the Armed Forces Medical College ground in Pune.

India created a new record and shattered the previous record created by China where 1,779 people held a plank for 60 seconds at the Central Park in Lu’an, Anhui, China on March 18 in 2017.

Shilpa looked pretty much excited and told the press saying that she is eager to bring about a change in anything related to fitness. She also expressed her interest in increasing awareness of fitness since health is important and she is ready to lend her supporting hands to those people who are willing to keep themselves fit and active.

Fitness enthusiasts gathered in Pune on Sunday morning from different spheres of life to participate in the plankathon and promised to work tediously towards attaining good health and better lifestyle.

Shilpa arrived at the venue at sharp 6 a.m., and to her delight, she saw the number of participants being more than 2,000 which made her feel excited to be a part of the initiative.

The event commenced with a preliminary warm-up exercise, but with groovy music as opposed to regular gym instructions. Before the participants held the plank, Shilpa demonstrated the plank posture partnering with a young fitness enthusiast in an effort to get the posture correct.

Then all the participants held the plank for a minute to create the record. For Shilpa, holding a plank on a usual day is a cakewalk since she is capable of holding it for two minutes as she stated in front of the press. Only a hyper fit person can hold a plank for that long since it tests your efforts and determination.

The event was inaugurated by Chandramohan Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, and Rishi Nath, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records. According to Mr.Nath, the enthusiasm and zeal amongst the participants in setting a new Guinness World Record have impressed in real time. A new benchmark has been achieved in the category courtesy of those fitness aspirants holding the abdominal plank position for a time worthy of creating Guinness World Records.