Indian Climbing team bags 15 medals overall
Jamshedpur: The first edition of Asian Kids Sports Climbing Championship concluded today. Mr Sanjeev Paul, Vice President (Safety, Health and Sustainability), Tata Steel graced the closing ceremony as Chief Guest along with Mr Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary, President, Tata Workers’ Union.
The 11th of December marked the 3rd and last day of the Asian Kids Championship and with it came the end of an epic journey. A true test of stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit.
It brought out the best in all the 84 athletes from 10 countries. The treacherous Bouldering routes, the herculean Lead climbing, and the formidable Speed Climbing were all worth the pain. The three disciplines of sport climbing – Lead, Speed, and Bouldering, surpassed all expectations as the athletes turned their best game on and raised the bar of an entire sport in this championship.
The day was filled with final competitions in the combined category in which athletes’ average scores are calculated based on their performance in all three disciplines. It was the last opportunity for all the talented young stars to shine and dazzle. An overwhelming turn of events, filled with tears of disappointment and joy, nonetheless, it was a decisive battle.
Indian team’s performance was terrific with 15 medals under their belt. “We didn’t expect this at all. We thought they would get intimidated by international players but, they have gone beyond our expectations. This is the first time our team has been a part of such an exposure. Our athletes learned so much from other teams and we got to know about our areas of improvement” shared Irani Sakia, Manager of India’s Sport Climbing team.
This event is a game changer in the field of Sport Climbing and has opened new doors for India, and we are emerging as strong players.
Rasip Isnin, Secretary General IFSC Asia expressed his delight at the conclusion of this event, “This event has benefited the climbing athletes immensely since they got the opportunity to interact and also compete with highly skilled athletes and learn from each other, observe amazing techniques of climbing.
The Indian athletes have won so many medals while competing with the powerhouses of sport climbing like Korea and Hongkong, China. We can clearly see the significant improvement in the performance of Indian athletes, and we are slowly catching up with the rest of the world. It doesn’t matter who won or lost, everyone who has been a part of this championship is a winner by having this experience.”
Discussions on the Asian Kids Championship being an annual event are happening and in 2023, there will be at least 6-7 Asian Level Events and World events lined up for Sport Climbing, informed IFSC and IMF. IFSC, IMF, Tata Steel and TSAF’s relentless efforts in creating world-class infrastructure, impeccable hospitality, and operations were appreciated by all the guests. This is only the beginning and TSAF is all set to host more events like these in the future.
In the past 3 days, the bright young athletes celebrated what sports is all about, spirit, vitality and perseverance, being strong even when you are feeling weak, being brave when in fear, being proud and unbowed in defeat, and yet humble and gentle in victory.
