Captain Harpreet Chandi becomes first Indian origin woman to trek solo to the South Pole

An Indian-origin British Army Captain, Harpreet Chandi, has become the first woman of colour to trek solo unsupported to the South Pole. The 32-year-old who is widely famous as Polar Preet is also a trained physiotherapist.

She completed the 700 miles (1127 kilometres) in just 40 days. Harpreet announced the same via an Instagram post.

"Hello everyone, checking in from day 40. I made it to the South Pole where its snowing. Feeling so many emotions right now. I knew nothing about the polar world three years ago and it feels so surreal to finally be here. It was tough getting here and I want to thank everybody for their support," she wrote.

Harpreet stated that she hopes to encourage people to push their boundaries with her achievement.

"This expedition was always about so much more than me. I want to encourage people to push their boundaries and to believe in themselves, and I want you to be able to do it without being labelled a rebel. I have been told no on many occasions and told to "just do the normal thing", but we create our own normal. You are capable of anything you want. No matter where you are from or where your start line is, everybody starts somewhere. I don't want to just break the glass ceiling, I want to smash it into a million pieces."

Harpreet is a part of the medical regiment in the British Army and her major role is to organise and validate training for medics as a Clinical Training Officer.