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Sunita Singh Choken (Jenny Choken)
Sunita Singh Choken alias Jenny Choken (Born 20 February 1985) is an Indian mountaineer, long distance cyclist, and social worker. In 2011 at the age of 26, Sunita reached the summit of Mount Everest as a part of the Eco-Everest expedition team. Sunita was then the youngest woman from Haryana to have successfully climbed Mount Everest. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President of India on 8 March 2017. Sunita is also the brand ambassador of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao program in the state of Haryana.

Early life and education
Sunita was born on 20 February 1985 in Rewari, in the Indian state of Haryana. She is the second of the three children of Johri Singh Choken (served in the BSF between 1972 and 2012) and Mani Singh Choken. Sunita’s younger sister, Rekha Singh Choken (alias Jen Choken), is also a mountaineer, cyclist and long distance runner.

While growing up Sunita lived in many cities across India. She attended high school at Kendrya Vidyalaya in Amritsar, Punjab. Later the family moved back to Rewari. Sunita’s mother, Mani Singh, played a major role in shaping Sunita’s career. She encouraged Sunita against all odds to pursue a career in mountaineering and adventure sports. In 2019, Mani Singh received the 'Best Mother of the Year' award from the government of Haryana.

In 2007, Sunita completed her Bachelor of Science (BSc.) from Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar. She also has a master’s degree in Physical Education from Kurukshetra University.

Mount Everest expedition
While in college, Sunita took basic and advanced mountaineering courses from NIM, HMI and DMAS. Between 2007 and 2010, she trained under the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) to prepare for climbing Mt. Everest. When Sunita finally set out for her Everest expedition in 2011, she had already successfully climbed seven  5000m+ peaks in India and Nepal. On 14 April 2011, Sunita reached the Everest base camp (5,364 m). She was one of the climbers in the Eco-Everest expedition 2011 Spring team, led by Ken Noguchi and Dawa Steven Sherpa. Sunita was the youngest in a 50 member team, which included Sherpas and mountaineers from all over the world.

Between 14 April and 13 May, the team made three unsuccessful attempts to reach the summit. In the second attempt the team had reached as far as the Yellow Band (between camp III and camp IV), when the climbers were instructed to return to the base camp because of high wind velocity in the higher altitudes. The team's third attempt was also thwarted by strong winds and inclement climate.

On 16 May, Sunita and her team set out from the base camp at 2:00 am for the fourth and final time. They were told that if they failed this time, the expedition would have to be aborted. On the same day, they reached camp II (6,400 m) at 10:00 am. On 18 May, the team climbed up to camp III (6,800 m). On 19 May, the team set up its final camp at 8000 m (Camp IV). The climbers rested for a few hours at camp IV. At 7:30 pm, Sunita started from camp IV towards Everest summit. Two hours into the climb, Sunita realised that she had forgotten the Indian flag in camp IV. She climbed down to get the flag and resumed her upward climb from camp IV at 10:30 pm.

On 20 May (8:00 am Nepal time), Sunita stepped on the Everest summit (8,848 m) - the highest point on earth. She was the first member in her team to reach the summit. She became the youngest woman from the state of Haryana to have climbed Mount Everest. She spent twenty minutes on the summit and clicked a few photographs.

During the expedition, Sunita and her team, as a part of the cleaning initiatives of the Eco-Expedition team, removed and collected wrappers, plastic and garbage from the mountains. In addition, they did not litter the mountains with the waste that the expedition produced. They carried the waste (both plastic and human) back along with their other loads. Throughout the climb, Sunita also carried the banner of ‘Stop Child Marriage’ to raise awareness about the evils of child marriage in India.

Other mountaineering expeditions
Sunita has taken part in more than 14 major mountaineering expeditions in India and Nepal over a period of 15 years. In May 2017, she climbed a virgin peak (Peak MB17 - 6004 m) in the Himalayan mountain range. During this expedition, she carried the banner of ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’.

Cycling expeditions
In 2017, Sunita embarked upon a solo cycling expedition from Kanyakumari to the Khardung La pass (5,359 m) in Ladakh. She covered a distance of 4200 km through 9 Indian States in 46 days. She started from Kanyakumari on 15 July 2017. She biked through Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh before arriving at Khardung La on 29 August 2017. During the trip, she planted saplings in towns and villages in order to create awareness about environmental safety and gather support against deforestation.

In July - September 2018, Sunita cycled from Somnath Temple (Gujarat) to Pashupatinath temple (Kathmandu, Nepal), covering a distance of 5000 Km in 46 days. Later in November 2018, she cycled across 18 districts of Haryana to teach young students about the devastating effects of plastic pollution on our environment.

Social work
Sunita is the ambassador of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' program in the district of Rewari, Haryana. She takes part in different initiatives to stop foeticide of female embryos in the state of Haryana. She visits schools and colleges across India to raise consciousness about women’s rights and safety. She also takes active interest in issues such as environmental safety and climate change.

Awards

 * Nari Shakti Puraskar (2017)
 * Bharat Gaurav Award (2013)
 * Kalpana Chawla Shaurya Award (2018)
 * Border Security Force Brave Daughter Award (2012)
 * Adamya Sahas Award (2018)