[ A Emeni Jenny and Bading Dawa Tayeng ]
ITANAGAR, 23 Jan: The second edition of the Tawangchu Tides International Kayaking Championship will be held at the twin villages of Kharung and Bongleng in Tawang district from 10-15 February.
The races will be conducted on 12 and 13 February.
Addressing reporters at the press club here on Friday, Arunachal Kayaking Canoeing Association (AKCA) president Dr Joram Aniya said, “We see an opportunity for the people of Arunachal to acquire gold in the Olympics through this water-related sport.”
“With regard to the championship, there is very keen support from the government’s side, and we will request the government to open a training centre for the same,” Aniya said.
AKCA general secretary Nino Dai said: “For the first time, this event is going to have more than 100 participants from around the world. The event is very important as kayak and canoeing is an Olympic sport, and we are stressing on this as a long-term plan to make Arunachal a powerhouse of kayaking in India.
“The AKCA is totally dedicated to the long-term plan, and we are planning to work with Charanjiv Singh and the IKCA (Indian Kayaking & Canoeing Association) to produce and groom athletes to represent India and Arunachal in national and international events,” said Dai.
Twenty-five kayakers from 10 countries, such as France, Russia, the USA, Germany, the UK, Malaysia, and Thailand, besides kayakers from various parts of the Northeast are participating in the event.
Tawangchu Tides race director Chiranjiv Singhinformed that the event will be broken down into two categories: amateur and professional, with multiple races.
“This is one of the biggest kayaking events in India, and has an attractive prize money of 16.5 lakhs,”Singh informed.
A 10-member safety team has been set up for the event. Additionally, a team from the NDRF will also be present to look over the peripherals of the river.
While the primary goal remains the sport events, tourism will also be promoted in the process. The championship will take place on a 200 metres course, where international and national teams will compete. A separate, easygoing course will be set up for the amateurs. (A Emeni Jenny and Bading Dawa Tayeng are interns at The Arunachal Times)
