Race Across the World 2026's first elimination: Puja admits 'guilt' over her dad's death before she and Roshni are sent home
The cousins made a bold decision that determined their fateRace Across the World 2026 has seen its first elimination of the series, with Puja and Roshni sent home.
The cousins were the last of the five teams to make it to this week’s checkpoint, meaning they were axed from the competition.
It was a tough leg for Puja in particular, as she spent her birthday catching a long-distance bus at 3am.
The doctor also found herself in tears as she reflected on her father’s tragic death from Covid.
Puja opened up about the “guilt” she feels, having brought the virus into the family home during the height of the pandemic.
Race Across the World 2026: Puja’s ‘guilt’ over dad’s death
Puja and Roshni made a pitstop in tonight’s leg to help out at a sea turtle rescue centre. Doctor Puja in particular enjoyed putting her medicinal skills to use on some of the injured animals.
But having been up since 3am, and with it being her birthday, the 32-year-old became emotional. Watching the sunset, Puja wiped away tears as she reflected on her dad’s death in December 2021.
She said to Roshni: “This is the fourth birthday I’ve spent without dad. When we lost dad, all our birthdays changed.
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“Like, having a card from dad or dad just being present. Just seeing that familiar face. And I just don’t have it anymore.
“Sometimes it’s just hard because you just want to hear his voice or just know what his opinion is or ask for his advice.”
Speaking to the cameras, Puja opened up about the “guilt” she still feels about her dad’s tragic death.
After medical school, Puja worked in emergency medicine. She said she enjoyed it, until Covid “kind of changed everything”.
“It was December 2021 and we were just drowning in sick patients with Covid,” she said. “Unfortunately, I got Covid. I was self-isolating in my room upstairs, making sure I didn’t touch anything. But then dad got unwell.
“Having your relative in hospital with Covid, it feels like someone has your heart in their hand and it’s just tearing it into pieces.
“It’s heartbreaking when it hits you. He’s not going to come back.”
Puja went on to speak about the emotional battle she still experiences.
“I felt a lot of guilt because in my mind, I brought Covid home, I put him in this situation and it was my fault,” she said. “I will always struggle with that.”
Race Across the World elimination: Puja and Roshni eliminated
Unfortunately, Puja and Roshni made a big decision that ultimately resulted in the fate early on in tonight’s leg.
The 2026 teams were tasked with travelling from Istanbul to Halfeti in Turkey. They were told the fifth team to arrive would be eliminated.
Siblings Harrison and Katie started the leg with a huge 31-hour lead and the girls were desperate not to be last. The cousins decided to make a 500km detour westwards, hoping it was the right choice.
They decided to go back to a bus station they had previously visited in Izmir.
Puja explained: “We travelled back because last time we came here we discovered Izmir is a major transport hub that has lots of buses going everywhere. So we just took the risk.
“It’s important to keep moving because me and Rosh do not want to come in fifth place. Me and Rosh do not want to go home.”
They ended up catching a bus at 3am. But, following their experience with the turtles, they were hit with a huge bus delay. As a result, they did end up finishing in fifth place.
Harrison and Katie got to Halfeti first, just after midnight. In-laws Mark and Margo were next at 10am, with Josh and Kush just behind at 10.38am. Andrew and Molly arrived at 2.14pm.
Puja and Roshni didn’t arrive at the checkpoint until 2.23am the following day.
Roshni said: “I’m gutted, I genuinely thought we were in the four. I didn’t think we were at risk. Maybe we should have been moving a bit faster.”
Accepting their fate, Puja added: “They zoomed through this bit of the race. To be eliminated against four other amazing groups of people is not so bad.”
