Indian Army Wins Inter-Services Paragliding Championship at Bir Billing

Indian Army wins inter-services paragliding championship at Bir Billing

The first Inter services paragliding X-country championship has won by the Indian Army. The Championship commenced on Saturday, a first of its kind, and is being conducted from October 29 to November 01, under the aegis of the army adventure wing (AAW) at the mountainous belt of Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh. It is the world’s second-highest paragliding site at 8,000 ft.

The first Zorinmawia Inter-services Paragliding X-Country Championship was named after Late Sep Zorinmawia, an ace army paragliding pilot, who sacrificed his life during validation paragliding flying training. The three-day competition culminated with a cultural programme followed by the awards presentation.

An Indian Army official said the inter-services competition would not only achieve synergy among the services but also create a pool of trained pilots for operational tasks behind enemy lines. Col Chauhan said that it would also help promote adventure tourism in Himachal. It was encouraging to see that adventure sports were becoming popular in the country.

The day’s activities saw around 15 paragliding pilots from the Indian Army and Navy taking off from Billing and landing at Bir located approximately 13 to 14 kilometres, displaying their ability to navigate X-country in the air.

”Paragliding is primarily a recreational and competitive adventure sport. The ability of the paragliding flight to last many hours and cover large distances is of great importance to the Armed Forces, as it will facilitate aerial insertions behind enemy lines,” defence spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Brigadier AK Singh, who welcomed the paragliding pilots from the services and expressed confidence that such an event will not only augment the efforts by the Army to provide an international-level arena to the paragliding pilots to hone and showcase their flying skills.