The beginners boater cross event as part of the third edition of the Malabar River Festival was held at the Kakkayam Reservoir in Kozhikode on Friday. Rakshit Singhal from Bangalore emerged the first place winner in the contest. Siddharth Sharma of Jaipur and Sandeep Thuppad from Bangalore came second and third respectively. Twenty five participants from different part of the country took part in the competition, which started at 10 a.m. A large number of visitors had thronged the place to witness the event.

According to V.D. Joseph, chairman of the Kerala State Kayaking Academy, one of the organising partners of the festival, the beginners race was held, more than a competition, as a demonstration event to establish the fact that kayaking could be done by anyone if a little bit of training was given. “The event must have definitely inspired many youngsters here to make their splash into the white-waters in a kayak,” he said.

According to P.G. Rajeev, secretary of the District Tourism Promotion Council, Minister for Tourism A.P. Anilkumar will formally open the Malabar River Festival being organised by the DTPC at Thusharagiri on Saturday. The international white-water kayaking championship, the main event of the festival, will take place on Saturday. Around 50 Kayaking athletes, including paddlers of international repute, are participating in the event. The four-day event will conclude on Sunday. Noted travel documentary host Santhosh George Kulangara will be the chief guest of the valedictory function on Sunday.

Details can be had from www.keralarafting.com, www.kayaksession.com, Manik Taneja 09740067323, (Kayaking), and V.D. Joseph 9447637079 (Malabar River Festival). Interested may register for the event online atwww.malabarfest.com.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – July 25th, 2015