The rain and the sun taking turns in outsmarting the other had little impact on the people of Kodenchery and surroundings who turned up to get a glimpse of the action at Pulikkayam in Kodenchery where the 9th edition of the Malabar River Festival had a vibrant start on Friday.
The young kayakers of India battled with the swift rapids of the Chalippuzha to complete their task in the kayak cross/extreme slalom (amateurs) event, hoping to find a place in the National Kayak Team to take part in the forthcoming Paris Olympics.
“The extreme slalom/kayak cross event is debuting at the Paris Olympics. We are conducting two qualifying events, one here and another in Meghalaya to select the Indian team so that they can start their preparations well in advance,” said Sumant S. Kulshreshtha, chief executive officer of the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association, who is monitoring the selection trials at the Malabar River Festival.
Around a hundred amateur kayakers from all over India have turned up for the event, in which Aditya Joshi from Rajasthan and Gungan Tiwari from Madhya Pradesh bagged the first place in men’s and women’s categories respectively. Dhruv Raj Dhalpuriya from Madhya Pradesh and Adam Mathew Sibi from Kerala bagged the second and third prizes respectively in the men’s category while Babitha Goswamy from Uttarakhand and Karishma Diwan from Madhya Pradesh bagged the same in the women’s category.
The extreme slalom/kayak cross (pro) event will be held on Saturday. The event is scheduled to be held at Pulikkayam from 10 a.m. onwards. However, there is likely to be a change in venue unless there is a heavy rain on Friday night raising the water level in the Chalippuzha considerably.
“The water level is very low here. Though it is appropriate for amateurs, it is not competitive enough for the professionals. Hence, the competition may be shifted to the Iruvazhinji river, the rapids of which are too intense and hence dangerous,” said Paulson Joseph, coordinator of the event. Kayakers from seven other countries who have registered for the event will take part in Saturday’s events.
The super final and the down river race, the crowd pullers of the Malabar River Festival every year, will be held on Sunday.
