Irfan, whose full name is Irfan Kolothum Thodi, was born in the village of Kuniyil in Malappuram, Kerala. While his father Mustafa KT was a labourer who collected coconuts, Irfan’s mother Zuleika is a housewife.

As a youngster, K.T Irfan had a fondness for sports like football, hammer throw, javelin throw, and long jump rather than race walking. It was in 2010 when K.T Irfan’s race-walking dreams got momentum. He joined the army as a sepoy and trained with Subedar Ramkumar at the Madras Regiment Center.

In the ATNK & K area meet in October 2010, K.T Irfan won a gold medal in the 20 km race, clocking 1:33:12. K.T Irfan finished 10th in the 20km race at London 2012, with a time of 1:20.21. His time is still a national record in 20km race walking, which Devender Singh equaled at the Asian Race-Walking Championships, Japan, in 2016.