Indian Twins racers Nungshi and Tashi Malik pursue mountaineering
Team Khukuri Warriors is one of the most likeable teams on World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji because of the fearless breakout twin sisters, Nungshi and Tashi Malik. Although Nungshi (who goes by Nash) is the oldest, Tashi took on the role as the team’s captain.
Team Khukuri Warriors is also the first team representing India to compete on World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. The Maliks, who defied gender stereotypes by reaching the highest and farthest points in the world – Mt. Everest and the North and South Pole – had more to say about the competition and its impact on them.
When asked what keeps you going throughout, Nash shares, “We were trying to feed off of our optimism because we had never done an expedition race like this before. If we showed our fears, we would feed off of that energy and we believe in energy so much. Seeing a smile on everyone’s face just felt nicer. It was good to feel positive and pumped up throughout the course.
Although it seems like we were born with this sense of adventure and climbing mountains and kicking ass, it’s not true. We had to grow into this. Our Dad (Col. Virendra Singh Malik), is an ardent believer in all- around development and holistic living and he introduced mountaineering to us. At the age of 19, in 2010, we climbed our very first peak, which was a life-affirming experience.
I remember standing on the summit of Mt. Rudugaira, which is 19,000 ft., and just as a woman, standing on the peak meant so much. I felt so powerful that day and unstoppable in so many ways. It truly changed the way we perceive ourselves. Climbing, particularly, and extreme adventures in general are cathartic for us. And the high benchmarks of risk taking and adversity give us a higher level of self-belief that we brought with us to World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji.
Amazon Prime Video’s International Amazon Original Series World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is a 10-episode adventure series is hosted by Bear Grylls and executive produced by Mark Burnett. The show tells the story of the ultimate expedition race, in which 66 teams from 30 countries race non-stop for 11 days, 24 hours a day, across hundreds of miles of rugged Fijian terrain complete with mountains, jungles, rivers, and ocean. World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji premieres on Prime Video on August 14th 2020 in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
At its core, World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is about perseverance. People from all walks of life and every corner of the globe join together to overcome the most incredible obstacles. The challenges lie both within the course itself, and competitors’ equally daunting personal struggles, which are only magnified by the demands of the expedition. Viewers worldwide will see the limits of human physical and mental endurance tested like never before.
Showrunner and Executive Producer, Lisa Hennessy, worked alongside Burnett on all eight prior Eco-Challenge races from 1995 through 2002. The program stands as the pioneer for unscripted competition series, and 25 years later World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji brings about an unprecedented scale and global design to the format.
The series, produced by MGM Television in association with Amazon Studios, comes from an award-winning team in television including host and executive producer Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild, Running Wild), showrunner and executive producer Lisa Hennessy (Eco-Challenge, The Biggest Loser), and executive producers Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Voice), Eric Van Wagenen (Survivor, The Amazing Race), Barry Poznick for MGM Studios, and Delbert Shoopman, Grylls’ producing partner.
The teams participating in the show are Team Khukuri Warriors (India) : Competitors: Tashi Malik (TC), Nungshi Malik, Brandon Fisher, Praveen Singh Rangar, Col VS Malik (TAC)Team Hashtag: #TeamKhukuriWarriors. Team Summit (Spain) : Competitors: Emma Roca (TC), Jukka Pinola, Fran Costoya, Albert Roca, David Rovira (TAC). Team Hashtag: #TeamSummit. Team Endure (USA) : Competitors: Travis Macy (TC), Mark Macy, Danelle Ballengee, Shane Sigle, Andrew Speers (TAC) . Team Hashtag: #TeamEndure. Team Onyx (USA) : Competitors: Clifton Lyles (TC), Coree Aussem-Woltering, Sam Scipio, Chriss Smith Jr., Mikayla Lyles (TAC) . Team Hashtag: #TeamOnyx