Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 6: Seven sport climbers of J&K selected in the North Zone team left today for Delhi on way to Bangalore for participation in the National Sport Climbing Competition.
Earlier, before the climbers were given a warm send off, Chief Secretary, B R Sharma, the chief guest on the occasion, interacted with the young climbers, including four girls. He congratulated them for their splendid performances in this year’s North Zone Sport Climbing Competition and winning the North Zone Champion’s Trophy. He exhorted the climbers to perform to their full potential in the National competition also and bring more laurels to the state.
He also complimented Mountaineering Association of J&K for its tireless efforts to promote the game and producing national and International climbers in the field of sport climbing despite certain constraints. Since sport climbing has now become an Olympic Discipline the onus of preparing climbers for the forthcoming Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018 and Tokyo Olympics in 2020 by providing them necessary infrastructure and advance training rests with the Association as well as the Government, he added. He promised all possible help from the Government to enable the State climbers to participate in the international competitions.
General Secretary Mountaineering Association of J&K Ram Khajuria disclosed that the nine climbers of J&K which include Shivani Charak, Asma Gul, Shilpa Charak, Kumari Bindia, Sumiya Kousar, Arun Singh, Mrityunjay Sharma, Ajay Singh and Aman Dogra shall undergo 10 days rigorous training under national coaches at Indian Mountaineering Foundation, New Delhi before leaving for participation in the National Competition at Bangalore on December 15, 2016. While, Aman Dogra who recently represented the country in the Asia Youth Championship at Tehran, is already training at IMF, New Delhi, Sumiya Kousar shall join the team at Delhi on December 11, 2016. The local trainer of the J&K team Shashi Kant Sharma also accompanied the team and shall remain with the climbers till the conclusion of the national championship.
However, the manager of the team Shawetica Khajuria, a National Judge of the game, shall join the team at Bangalore before the start of the championship on December 17, 2016.
The J&K climbers who have been practicing very hard for the last couple of months in a series of coaching camps under national coaches at Jammu and Delhi are expected to improve upon their last year’s performance in the National Competition when they bagged 3 medals including 2 Gold and 1 Bronze. Whereas Shivani Charak and Aman Dogra, the reigning National Speed Climbing Champions are expected to retain their titles, Asma Gul, Mrityunjay Sharma and Arun Singh, the three very talented and powerful climbers are also expected to be among the medallists.
Even the other 4 climbers including Ajay Singh and Shilpa Charak have the ability to create upsets and win medals in their categories.
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