Kochi: “It’s a true sailor’s test and we are happy that we won it,” said Captain Gourav Mehta on Friday after leading his team drawn from the Anti Submarine Warfare School (ASWS) and the Diving School to victory at the Kochi Area Boat Pulling Regatta.
It was a two-month-long hard training that helped the team wins the trophy after a gap of two years, Capt. Mehta said. Around 50 sailors trained for the championship from ASWS and Diving School with 36 of them taking part in the competition, which was a test of stamina and strength.
“We are elated and our hard work has paid off,” said Captain Sanjay Panda, who was the lead trainer of the team. “We won five out of six races and in the final race we initially lagged behind INS Garuda for sometime but fought our way to finish first ahead of them.”
The race saw a stiff competition between last year’s winner INS Garuda and the ASWS-Diving School team. ASWS which was the first runner-up last year has the last laugh this time. Teams from INS Venduruthy, NIAT, Signal School and Dronacharya also took part in the annual boat pulling regatta, one of the top sporting events of the Southern Naval Command.
