New Delhi: A glitzy ceremony opened the Paragliding World Cup, that will see 130 pilot from 35 countries in action over the next seven days in the Bir-Billing area of Himachal Pradesh.
A cultural programme and lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Union minister of civil aviation P. Gajapati Raju, at the world-famous Sherabling Monastery marked the beginning of the event on Friday.
“We are expecting a huge turnout, way beyond our expectations,” said Sudhir Sharma, president Billing Paragliding Association and also minister for town planning and tourism, Himachal Pradesh.
“It is easily the biggest aero sports event in this part of Asia and with our site in Bir-Billing being a natural for paragliding, there is a lot of interest.”
The field at the AAI Paragliding World Cup is one of the strongest and will see in action three of the world’s top four, including all-time great Julien Wirtz of France. He is currently ranked No.3 in the world, one behind Vidic Jurij of Slovenia.
Jurij, Wirtz and Torsten Siegel of Germany hold the second to fourth spots in the world and also in Europe. Another big name in the field is France’s Maxime Pinot, winner of the 2014 Super Cup in Turkey, who is now No.8 in the latest world rankings.
The home challenge will be led by Ajay Kumar, country’s most experienced pilot. Gurpreet Dhindsa, Jyoti Thakur, Arvind Pal, Prakash Chand, Gautam Nath and Sanjay Kumar complete the team.
