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[ Harshwardhan Pillai ]<\/strong><\/p>\n ITANAGAR, 2 Jul:<\/strong> From the peaceful hills of Mizoram, where mornings begin with mountain mist and the world moves without rush, came a boy who would one day fly higher than most children dream.<\/p>\n Samuel Lalbiakhlua (11) from Mizoram is now officially the world’s youngest certified paragliding pilot. But more than a record, it’s a story of passion, freedom, and quiet strength – things Lalbiakhluacarried with him since he was just five years old.<\/p>\n Growing up in a small village in Saitual district, Samuel had always been drawn to extreme sports. From a young age, he was climbing hills, trekking long trails, and jumping off ledges without fear. His father and uncle often took him hiking, especially to Mamrawng Peak, one of Mizoram’s tallest summits.<\/p>\n By the time he was eight, Samuel had already shown more discipline and confidence in the mountains than most adults. He didn’t do it for attention – he simply loved the adventure.<\/p>\n Paragliding wasn’t something he even knew about until he turned eleven. That’s when Varte Zaithawnmawii, a local paragliding coach and hospital faculty member who is also a part of the Mizoram Paragliding Association and the State Sports Council, noticed him. She met him through a family connection and was struck by his calmness and energy.<\/p>\n Though he had never flown before, she saw something natural in him – an ease in motion, a quiet confidence, and strong listening skills.<\/p>\n Zaithawnmawii helped him begin his training, not in Mizoram, but in Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh – the highest paragliding site in India, and there was a language barrier between him and the instructors. But Zaithawnmawii stayed with him and translated instructions, and within days, Samuel began understanding and picking things up quickly. He was never scared – only focused.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge wasn’t skill – it was weight. At the time of his solo flight, Samuel was just 32 kilograms, far below the required 45. So they added extra weight to his harness. Even that didn’t shake his confidence. On 16 March, 2024, he took off from Bir Billing and landed at Chogan after a smooth twenty-minute solo flight. Just three days later, he was certified by the International Book of Records as the world’s youngest certified paragliding pilot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [ Harshwardhan Pillai ] ITANAGAR, 2 Jul: From the peaceful hills of Mizoram, where mornings begin with mountain mist and the world moves without rush, came a boy who would one day fly higher than most children dream. Samuel Lalbiakhlua (11) from Mizoram is now officially the world’s youngest certified paragliding pilot. But more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-266585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}