International Paragliding Festival concludes; Malayali competitor secures 3rd position

Sushanth Thakor from Himachal Pradesh won first, Aman Thapa from Nepal won second, and Jobin Sebastian from Enthayar in Kerala won third positions.

The four-day International Paragliding Festival at Wagamon in Idukki concluded on March 17 (Sunday). According to officials, Sushanth Thakor from Himachal Pradesh won first, Aman Thapa from Nepal won second, and Jobin Sebastian from Enthayar in Kerala won third positions.

Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) CEO Binu Kuriakose said that the purse for the first prize is ₹1.5 lakh, while the second prize winner takes away ₹1 lakh, and the third prize winner gets ₹50,000. Idukki Sub-Collector Arun S. Nair distributed the prize money to the winners at a function at Wagamon on Sunday.

“KATPS has decided to conduct the paragliding festival at Wagamon next year with more features. The first competition-level festival in Wagamon witnessed a huge presence of participants from across the globe,” said Mr. Kuriakose.

“In the first competition, a Malayali paraglider named Jobin Sebastian won the third prize. He is a regular paraglider at Wagamon,” said Mr. Kuriakose.

Jobin Sebastian said that the earlier participation in accuracy landing helped to achieve the third position in the festival. “Two more Malayali paragliders Midhun and Arun Kumar also were victorious after securing the sixth and 11th positions in the competition,” said Mr. Sebastian.

According to officials, the festival was jointly organised by the KATPS under the Department of Tourism and the Idukki District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) with the technical support of the Paragliding Association of India.