AEROSPORTS

Skydiving with the largest flag Wg Cdr Kamal Singh Oberh of Indian Air Force skydived from a Mi-17 V-5 helicopter flying at First three-way side by side hand 7,000 ft with a 4,211.45 sq ft (391.25 sq m) flag plane parachute formation weighing 52 kg at National Defence Academy, Akashganga skydive team of Indian Air Khadakwasla near Pune, Maharashtra on May 29, Force, led by Wg Cdr Jai Kishan, 2016. He was able to fully deploy the flag at performed a three-way side by side about 4,500 ft and safely land with it. Made of hand plane parachute formation on May indigenously manufactured special nylon fabric, 22, 2015. MWO Kailash and Sgt Sarvan the flag measured 81 ft 3 inches in breadth and were the other members of the 51 ft 10 inches in height. formation. The trio skydived from an altitude of 8,000 ft and first made a three-way vertical canopy formation followed by side by side hand plane formation.

First low level parachute acrobatics As part the 50 years of Indo-Pak war victory celebrations, Wg Cdr Jai Kishan and MWO S Singh of Akashganga skydive team of Indian Air Force performed low level parachute acrobatics over Gate, New on Sept 19, 2015. They skydived from 8,000 ft and performed acrobatics down to 200 ft, which included a two-way hand plane, dive plane, leg plane and inverted parachute formation.

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WR: Longest paramotor expedition The Indian Air Force paramotors team successfully conducted a circumnavigation-of-India paramotor expedition called ‘Pradakshina’, covering 10,041.7 km in 53 days from Feb 3 - March 26, 2016. The total flying hours was 507 hr 30min. Flagged off from Air Force Station, Kalaikunda, West Bengal, the team flew mostly along the periphery of the country before returning to Kalaikunda. It followed a First solo paragliding by clockwise route along the visually challenged eastern coast, western Divyanshu Ganatra (36), who coast, north-western lost his eyesight due to region and the eastern glaucoma at the age of 19, region, covering an average successfully performed a solo 218.3 km per day. The paraglider flight over Kamshet expedition carried the message near Pune, Maharashtra on ‘A salute to the martyrs of the nation’. April 30, 2014. The upto-700- The team consisted of eight pilots – Wg Cdr ft-high flight, undertaken after MPS Solanki (leader), Gp Capt RK Singh, Wg Cdr a four-day intensive training, Ramakant, Sqn Ldr Ankur Yadav, JWO L Madan Reddy, Sgt ML Yadav, Cpl Vishal Kumar and lasted nearly 1 min 30 sec. Cpl Kuldeep Sangwan – and eight supporting staff – WODharmvir, Sgt Ram Meher, Cpl Iqbal Singh, Cpl Sunil Kumar, Cpl Pankaj Kumar, Cpl MK Biswas, LAC Ashish Bisht and NC(E) Sundar Singh. Wg Cdr MPS Solanki recorded the longest single flight of 177.5 km on March 21, 2016.

First international paramotoring medalist Appasaheb Bhimraj Dhus (b Dec 26, 1970) of Deolali Pravara, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra became the first Indian to win international medals in paramotor games. He won one silver (category - Pure Economy) and two bronze medals (categories - Team Combined & International Teams) at the Thailand Paramotor Kings Cup Open 2016 held from May 12-15, 2016.

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adventure_2017.pmd 71 23-03-2017, 09:21 ADVENTURE Most microlight expeditions in shortest span Mountain Eagles, the Army microlight formation flying team based at Army Adventure Nodal Centre (Microlight & PHG), Mhow, MP conducted three microlight expeditions in 13 months from February 2015. The first expedition with seven aircraft covered 1,800 km in 10 flying days from Feb 13-26, 2015.  (Route: Mhow - Khargone - Dhule - Nasik - Ahmednagar - Mhow - Ujjain - Bhopal - Dhana and back to Mhow). The second expedition commemorating the golden jubilee of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, was  conducted from Sept 5-14, 2015. As part of this, three microlights covered 3,050 km in 10 flying days. (Route: Mhow - Banswara - Mehsana - Bhuj - Deesa - Jodhpur - Bikaner - Suratgarh - Bathinda - Hissar - Jaipur - Kota and back to Mhow). Third expedition celebrating the 15th Reunion of Corps of  Signals was conducted from Feb 9-17, 2016. It had six aircraft covering 1,500 km in nine flying days. (Route: Mhow - Ujjain - Bhopal - Dhana - Nowgong - Jabalpur and back to Mhow). The core team including pilots-in-command and ground crew, led by Lt Col Mankanwaljeet Singh Chawla, remained same for all the three expeditions.

Highest flight by a civilian ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES Mit C Bhatt (b April 4, 1982) of Vile-Parle (W), Mumbai successfully made the highest and fastest flight in a MiG-29UB fighter jet, touching an altitude of 17,300 m (57,000 ft) and a top speed of Mach 1.7 (2,080 kmph) over Sokol Airbase in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on April 2, 2015. While flying to the ‘Edge of Space’ (stratosphere) at supersonic speeds and undergoing suborbital flight simulation and aerobatic manoeuvres, he endured varying gravitational loads ranging from +5.5G during aerobatic manoeuvres to +7G during vertical take-off. The aerobatic manoeuvres also included spiral descent, orbit, 80 degree bank, reverse turn, loops, roll, low pass etc. During the WR: Highest bungy jump by the oldest 40-minute flight, controlled by Russian test pilot At 67 years, Bal Raj Kapoor (b Oct 16, 1948) of Col Yuri Polyakov of Sokol Airbase, Mit was also Model Town, Delhi performed a bungy jump given a chance to control the flight for a minute! from the 233 m-high Macau Tower, regarded the world’s highest such platform, in Hong Kong, China on June 26, 2015.

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Most women from a single team on Mt Everest As part of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Girls Everest Expedition 2016, conducted in March-May 2016, 11 women mountaineers from India First flying fox by visually summited Mt Everest (8,848 m) in two attempts challenged woman on May 21 and 22 respectively. The successful Visually challenged (100%) Neha women included Maj Deepika Rathore VSM, Nalin Pawaskar (b May 21, 1969) of cadet instructor Dolyne Kharbhih and nine cadets Bandra, Mumbai performed 800 ft Rigzen Dolker, Tashi Laskit, Pooja Mehra, long flying fox (zip line valley crossing) Lalrintluangi, Sulaxchana Tamang, Stanzin Laskit, activity at Dukes’s Nose, Lonavala Kumari Nutan, Tsering Angmo and Trishala Gurung. (3,500 ft), Maharashtra on Jan 26, The two groups led by Col Gaurav Karki (Team 2014. She completed the task in Leader) and Lt Col Vishal Ahlawat (Deputy Leader) 6 min. The event was organised by had a total 19 members from both Army and NCC. Hi-Tech Adventures, Mumbai. The expedition also set the record of putting the largest contingent of women (11) from a single First tyrolean traverse by country on top of Mt Everest. visually challenged woman Visually challenged (100%) Adventure awards to ITBP Neha Nalin Pawaskar (b May Mountaineer Padma Shri Harbhajan Singh, an 21, 1969) of Bandra, Mumbai Inspector General with the Indo-Tibetan Border successfully attempted 1,200 ft Police (ITBP), who was conferred the Tenzing tyrolean traverse at Konkankada Norgay National Adventure Award (2015) for (4,500 ft), Harishchandragadh, Lifetime Achievement at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Maharashtra in 8 min 30 sec Delhi on August 29, 2016, was the 12th Himveer on Jan 24, 2016. She of the para-military force to receive the honour. accomplished it as part of a He has participated in three successful expeditions three-day event organised by to Mt Everest and has led 16 national and Hi-Tech Adventures, Mumbai. international mountaineering expeditions.

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adventure_2017.pmd 73 23-03-2017, 09:21 ADVENTURE Youngest girl on highest peaks Since 2014, Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru from Hyderabad is on a mission to conquer the highest peaks of the seven continents. Her unique achievements as of June 30, 2016 are listed here. She started with Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) in Africa on Oct 2, 2014, becoming also the youngest Asian girl at 12 years to summit it. On July 31, 2015, she became the youngest girl in the world to climb Mt Elbrus (5,642 m) in Europe. Her next target was Mt Kosciuszko (2,228 m) in Australia, which she achieved on Dec 11, 2015 at the age of 14. She was also the world’s youngest girl to complete the 10 highest peaks in Australia. She climbed the highest Everest summit with Everest marathon peak in North America, Mt Denali (6,190m) in The Indian Army Everest Expedition 2016, 2016. In the African and Australian missions, she flagged off on March 29, 2016, successfully put along with her father had also become the first 14 personnel on top of Mt Everest in May 2016. father-daughter duo to accomplish the task. The first team led by Lt Col Ranveer Singh Jamwal and comprising Sub Rinzin Dorjai, Hav Hazari Lal, Hav K Siva Kumar, Nk Ankur Rawat, Nk Dorjay Gyalson and Nk CB Thapa reached the summit on May 19, 2016. The second team led by Maj Mirza Zahid Baig along with Nb Sub Unnikannan APV, Hav Arjun Kumar Thapa, Hav Min Bahadur Tamang, Nk Min Bahadur Rana, Nk Pratap Singh and Rfn Umesh Rai made it to the summit on the next day. Remarkably, the expedition was undertaken after the 2015 Nepal earthquake had damaged the traditional routes. The mission was accomplished under the leadership of Lt Col Ranveer Singh Jamwal. Nine days later, on May 29, 2016, five members of the team also participated in the world’s highest marathon, the 42.2 km Tenzing- Hillary Everest Marathon from Everest Base Camp to Namche Bazar.

First Indian team on 10 highest peaks in Australia A team of eight Indian trekkers including Akash Jindal, Manisha Waghmare, Anand Bansode, Saachi Soni, Rupali Chavan, Shrikant Chavan, Anjali Kulkarni and Sharad Kulkarni climbed the 10 highest peaks of Australia in just 50 hr as part of the Aussie 10 Challenge, an expedition organised by Mission Outdoors from Nov 3-5, 2014. The team summited four peaks including Australia’s highest peak Mt Kosciusko (2,228 m) on the first day and completed the remaining five on the second day and the 10th peak on the third day.

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Longest camel safari The Indian Army conducted the longest camel safari in the Thar Desert area of Bikaner in from March 11-20, 2016. The expedition team comprising officers, junior commissioned officers and 20 soldiers covered 200 km in 10 days. They also traversed 10 border towns. The team also organised free medical camps for villagers. The purpose of the expedition was to promote the spirit of adventure among Army personnel as well as showcase Army as a way of life to locals.

First woman amputee to summit Mt Carstensz Pyramid Arunima Sinha of , UP, despite one of her legs amputated below the knee, scaled Mt Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m), the highest mountain peak of Australia-Oceania region in the Papua Island, Indonesia in 2016. Earlier, Arunima had climbed Mt Everest becoming the world’s first woman amputee to do so on May 21, 2013. A former national level volleyball player, she lost her leg after she was pushed off a running train by thieves in 2011.

Longest desert trek by father and son Madhav Bhardwaj (b Feb 12, 1999), a class 12 student of The Doon School, Dehradun, together with his father Man Mohan Bhardwaj (b March 14, 1963), an ex-BSF officer from Ghaziabad, UP, completed a 305.17 km trek in the Thar Desert in nine days from March 26 to April 3, 2016. The arduous foot journey by the father- son duo traversed the sand-duned areas of the Great Indian Desert from Bikaner district to Jaisalmer district along the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan under hot weather conditions of early summer. The event was coordinated by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel.

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Most long distance runs in a year Adil S Nargolwala (b August 31, 1969) of Gurgaon, Haryana completed 39 long distance running events in a year. He achieved the feat by running 2-5 events per month during the period between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. The events, conducted at various venues both within the country and abroad included triathlons, half, full and ultra marathons.

WR: First to complete the GQ run Fastest non-stop run carrying weight Michelle Kakade (b Oct 9, 1968), a long distance Subhash Karamvir Malik (b Jan 3, 1987) of Kalasar, runner from Pune, Maharashtra, became the first Kaithal, Haryana ran 104 km carrying a weight of person to cover on foot the Golden Quadrilateral 10 kg on his shoulders in 12 hr 20 min on Jan 11, (GQ) connecting the four metros – Mumbai, 2016. He started the run from Draunacharya Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Her ‘Great India Stadium, Kurukshetra at 9.24 am and passing via Quadrilateral Run’ which started and ended at the Kurukshetra-Karnal-Madhuban -Kutail- Gateway of India, Mumbai covered 5,968.4 km in Kurukshetra route, returned to Draunacharya 193 days 1 hr 9 min from Oct 21, 2015 to May 1, Stadium at 9.44 pm. 2016. It was also the longest run undertaken by a woman on Indian roads.

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Longest relay race First Half Iron distance triathlon relay by As part of its golden jubilee celebrations, also women paying tribute to former President APJ Abdul The team comprising Pallavi Kulkarni (b May Kalam, the Border Security Force (BSF), Sector 11, 1982), Dr Meera Velankar (b Dec 11, Headquarters in Krishnanagar, Nadia, West 1975) and Indira Baikerikar (b May 30, 1972) Bengal organised the ‘BSF Golden Jubilee Baton completed a Half Iron distance relay as part of Relay Race 2015’. The event had 1,785 BSF the Tri Thonnur Triathlon 2015, held at jawans in commando dress cover a total distance Thonnur lake near Mysuru, Karnataka on Sept 6, of 174.2 km in relay format in 8 hr 55 min 2015, becoming the first all-woman team to 36sec from 6.30 am to 3.25:36 pm on August accomplish it. Pallavi swam 1.9 km in the open 24, 2015. Each participant ran about 100 m lake in 46 min 53 sec, followed by Meera carrying a 1.52 kg baton. The race was flagged cycling 90 km in 4 hr 21 min 2 sec and Indira off from the Border Outpost-Behra of 26 running 21 km in 2 hr 36 min 24 sec, completing Battalion BSF in North 24 Parganas, proceeded the event in 7 hr 44 min 18.7 sec. along the Indo-Bangladesh border road and flagged in at the Border Outpost-New Patharghata of 81 Battalion BSF in Nadia.

East-West India walk Vidyadhar V Bhuskute (64) of Dombivli, Mumbai walked from the east end point of Kibithu in First Ultraman triathlete Arunachal Pradesh to Porbandar, Arunaabh Shah (b August 11, 1990) of Delhi Gujarat in the west of the completed the Ultraman Triathlon (an event country, covering 3,734 km in consisting of 10 km swim, 421.1 km cycling and 123 days from Oct 26, 2015 to 84.3 km run) in Australia on May 16, 2016. He Feb 25, 2016. He undertook it as became the first and youngest Indian man to finish a mission for peace, humanity, an Ultraman race in its 33 year history. real education, environment and He has also done the Ironman Triathlon preventing female foeticide and involving 3.8 km swim, 180.2 km bike and child labour. 42.2 km run in Mallorca, Spain.

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adventure_2017.pmd 77 23-03-2017, 09:21 ADVENTURE ROAD EXPEDITIONS Fastest bicycling across most Himalayan passes CYCLING Sumit Patil (b April 25, 1985) of Alibag, Maharashtra pedalled through six Himalayan passes covering 517 km in 71 hr 28 min. He started from Manali, Himachal Pradesh at 4.02 am on Sept 16, 2015 and reached Khardung La at 3.30 am on Sept 19, 2015. The passes he covered en route were Rohtang La (3,978 m), Baralacha La (4,892 m), Nakee La (4,739 m), Lachunga La (5,059 m), Tanglang La (5,328 m) and Khardung La (5,602 m).

Fastest North-South India cycling Ashwani Kumar Singh (b August 14, 1995) of Deoria and Akash Yadav (b Feb 1, 1990) of Azamgarh, UP successfully completed the fastest North-South India cycling tour, covering 4,197 km in 14 days 15 hr 37 min. The duo started from Leh, Jammu & Kashmir at 5.30 am on June 13, 2016 and reached Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu at 9.07 pm on June 27, 2016.

Longest cycling without prosthetic limb Aditya Mehta (b May 21, 1982), an above-knee amputee from Hyderabad, completed cycling 1,450 km from Delhi to Mumbai in six days without wearing his prosthetic limb. Riding a Merida Reacto road bike, he started from India Gate, Delhi at 7.00 am on Dec 14, 2015 and reached the Gateway of India, Mumbai at 9.00 am on Dec 20, 2015. He undertook the journey with a mission to motivate the differently-abled persons in Indian paramilitary forces.

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Largest bicycle rally (100+ km) A team of 300 cyclists from 194 Field Regiment of Indian Army conducted the largest bicycle rally on Dec 14, 2015. The team covered 105.4 km from Faridkot Cantonment to Hussainiwala War Memorial in Punjab and back in 7 hr from 7.00 am to 2.00 pm on the day. They followed the Faridkot - Sadiq Chowk - Ferozpur - Hussainiwala - Faridkot route.

Longest tandem bicycling by women Sheetal Bambulkar (b Oct 27, 1978) of Mumbai and Dr Meera Velankar (b Dec 11, 1975) of Bengaluru completed a tandem cycling brevet (200 km in 13 hr 30 min) in Vadodara, Gujarat on Dec 20, 2015. The duo covered 206 km in 12 hr 27min and became the first women’s team to have done it. The ride started from Malhar Point at 6.00 am and ended at Sussen Circle at 6.27 pm. (Brevets are timed, non- supported and internationally affiliated long- distance cycling events). Highest altitude gain in a day on a bicycle Sharang Rathore (b Nov 12, 1975) of Gurgaon, Largest bicycling marathon Haryana achieved an altitude gain of more than Organised by Vodafone India, the second edition 8,848 m (the height of Mt Everest) in 18 hr of Vodafone Cycling Marathon held in Bengaluru 27 min on a geared bicycle on March 24, 2016. from 6.30 - 9.30 am on March 1, 2015 attracted He started the attempt from Bir village 6,123 cyclists. The event was held under four (1,525 m) in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh at different categories: Champion Race (60 km), 3.15 am and rode up to Billing Take Off Point Passion Race (40 km), Green Ride (20 km) and (2,400 m), approx. 16 km away from Bir. He Fashion Ride (5 km). There was also a Kids Ride repeated the trip four times and another short for children below 5 years. The event was trip of 30 m, adding up to a total altitude gain of conducted under the aegis of Cycle Federation of 8,858 m by 9.42 pm the same day. The total India and supported by Bengaluru City Traffic distance was 127.6 km while each trip added an Police. The number of participants in the first average 2,207 m in elevation. edition on Feb 9, 2014 was 5,000.

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adventure_2017.pmd 79 23-03-2017, 09:21 ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLING

Longest motorcycle journey within a Longest motorcycling with prosthetic leg country Mahinder Singh Raghuwanshi (b Oct 2, 1987), an Krishanu Kona (b Sept 27,1991) of Delhi travelled amputee (with 70% disability) wearing a 50,338 km on his motorcycle in 224 days to set prosthetic limb, covered 5,331.5 km on an Enfield the record for the longest motorcycle journey Bullet 350 bike in 17 days. He started the ride within a single country. Starting on August 30, from his home town Mhow in MP at 5.00 pm on 2015 from Delhi, the journey took him through June 3, 2016, went up to Khardungla (5,602 m 25 states and to the borders of India at above sea level) in Leh and returned to Mhow at (north), Kanyakumari (south), Rann of Kutch 10.00 pm on June 19, 2016. (west) and Tawang (east) before his return on April 9, 2016. He made the journey on a Bajaj Pulsar 200NS bike.

Longest motorcycle journey within the country (woman) Esha Gupta (b March 7, 1980) of Bengaluru covered 32,078 km within the country in 110 days. Her actual travel time was 732 hr 20 min. Riding a Bajaj Avenger, she started the journey from Bengaluru at 7.00 am on Jan 26, 2016 and, having passed through 16 states and one union territory, returned at 4.30 pm on May 14, 2016.

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adventure_2017.pmd 80 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE Lowest to highest ride Avinash Varghese (b April 14, 1982) of Manchalloor, Pathanapuram, Kerala undertook a unique solo ride on an Enfield Thunderbird AVL 350 from Kerala’s Kuttanad region situated at an elevation of Fastest GQ team ride 2.2 m (7.2 ft) below sea level to Marsimik The Brotherhood Of Tourers team of six La at 5,582 m (18,314 ft) in Leh, Jammu motorcycling enthusiasts from Mumbai toured the & Kashmir, making it the first such ride entire Golden Quadrilateral road network covering from the country’s lowest point to the 6,011 km in 118 hr 35 min. The team comprising highest. He started the journey from Eshan Banodkar, Dheeraj Landge, Aalesh Lade, Pulinkunnu in Alappuzha at 4.00 am on Gyanesh Yadav, Brian Monteiro and Sudeep NS Sept 17, 2015 and reached the started the journey from Mumbai at 5.00 pm on destination at 2.30 pm on Sept 30, 2015, Sept 22, 2015 and travelled anti-clockwise via covering 4,608 km across the length of Bengaluru-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi before returning the country. to Mumbai at 3.30 pm on Sept 27, 2015.

Fastest East-West India expedition Dr Suthan Timothy Thomas (b Jan 8, 1987) of Fastest GQ expedition Puliangudi, Thirunelveli, Tamil Nadu covered Balaji Mohan (b Jan 9, 1983) of Perungalathur, 3,729 km from Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh to Chennai completed his fastest Golden Koteshwar, Gujarat in 68 hr 18 min to set a new Quadrilateral (GQ) solo motorcycling expedition, record in East-West India two-wheeler covering 5,958 km in 89 hr 6 min on a Honda expedition. Starting the journey on a Honda CBR CBR 250R bike. He started the Chennai-to- 250R bike at 6.23 am on March 20, 2016, he Chennai anti-clockwise ride at 5.49 am on May 5, ended it at 2.41 am on March 23, 2016. 2016 and concluded at 10.55 pm on May 8, 2016. Fastest North-South India expedition Riding a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 bike, Ashwin Goswami (b Sept 30, 1994) of covered 4,042 km to complete the North-South India expedition in 76 hr 21 min. Starting the journey from Leh, Jammu & Kashmir at 5.00 am on June 25, 2016, he reached Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu at 9.21 am on June 28, 2016.

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Highest motorcycling by woman (solo) Riding a Bajaj Avenger 220 cc motorcycle, Pallavi Fauzdar (b Dec 20, 1979) of Delhi reached the tip of Mana Pass (Dungrila) in , touching an altitude of 5,638 m (18,497 ft) above mean sea level at 12.34 noon on Sept 24, 2015. She was also the first woman to do it solo.

First all-woman bikers team at Mana Pass An all-woman team of seven bikers comprising Sheetal Bidaye (team leader), Shubhangi Ghadge, Trupti Sarmalkar, Sneh Joshi, Bhavana Issar, Shalaka Zad and Kanchan Tamhankar reached Mana Pass, the highest motorable pass (5,608 m) on Oct 3, 2015, becoming the first such team to achieve it. They started from Joshimath in Uttarakhand on Oct 1, 2015, passed through Badrinath and Ghastoli and returned to Joshimath on Oct 5, 2015.

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Most 5,000+ m mountain passes crossed by woman rider Pallavi Fauzdar (b Dec 20, 1979) of Delhi covered eight Himalayan passes above 5,000 m in eight days (168 hr 21 min) from July 11-18, 2015, becoming the first woman to do it solo in a single journey. Riding a Bajaj Avenger 220 motorbike, she passed through Lachungla (5,085 m), Tanglangla (5,352 m), Khardungla (5,382 m), Warila (5,311 m), Changla (5,378 m), Marsimikla (5,601 m), Satathola (5,602 m) and Kaksangla (5,444 m)

First woman rider to Deotal Pallavi Fauzdar (b Dec 20, 1979) of Delhi reached Deotal (Devtal), situated at 5,471 m (17,950 ft) First woman rider to reach the highest lake above mean sea level in Riding a KTM Duke 200 motorbike, Vartika Jain Uttarakhand, riding a Bajaj (b August 5, 1989) of Lucknow, UP visited Avenger 220 cc Cholamu (Tso Lhamo), regarded the country’s motorcycle on Sept 24, highest lake at 5,330 m (17,490 ft) in North 2015. She became the Sikkim at 9.00 am on May 10, 2016. She along first woman rider to with three others started the expedition from achieve this. Lucknow, reached the lake via Gangtok and returned home, covering 2,616 km in less than 10 days from May 3-13, 2016.

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adventure_2017.pmd 83 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE Fastest ride in a day by physically challenged Jitender Singh Chandela and Vinod Kumar from Faridabad, Haryana, both physically challenged persons with 75% disability on one leg due to polio, rode a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc and a Bajaj Discover 125cc respectively for 1,069 km from Faridabad to Nagpur, Maharashtra. The ride undertaken on uncustomised bikes, was completed in 20 hr 45 min from 2.02 am to 10.47 pm on Sept 24, 2015.

Fastest motorcycling in a day Karthik Manivannan Naidu (b Sept 26, 1986) of Bengaluru accomplished the fastest motorcycling in a day, covering 2,308 km in 23 hr 58 min. He kick-started the ride on a KTM Duke 390 bike starting from Shell Fuel, Tumkur Road, Bengaluru at 1.51 pm on March 24, 2016. The journey proceeded via Hubli-Kolhapur-Sangli-Anantapur and came to a halt at Shell Bellary Road, Bengaluru at 1.49 pm the next day. Hands-free standing ride (absolute non- stop) Standing on the seat of his Royal Enfield motorbike, Amandeep Singh (b Jan 5, 1989) of Shahbad, Kurukshetra, Haryana rode the bike non- stop for 1hr 14 min covering 54.1 km on Oct 25, Fastest ride in a day 2015. He performed the stunt on NH 1 from by a paraplegic Nilokheri, Karnal to Ambala Cantt starting the ride Rahul Ashokbhai Amin at 6.18 am. (b May 7, 1971), a physically challenged person with right hand and right leg paralysed due to cerebral palsy, rode a two-wheeler from his home town Vallabh Vidyanagar in Anand, Gujarat to Belgaum, Karnataka, covering 921 km in 24 hr. He started the solo trip at 8.00 pm on Feb 16, 2016 and completed 921 km by 8.00 pm the next day. He rode a modified Honda Activa.

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adventure_2017.pmd 84 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE WR: Dare Devils on wheels Dare Devils, the motorcycle rider display team of Indian Army Corps of Signals, set two world records at Signal Training Centre, Jabalpur, MP in 2016. Team leader Capt Manpreet Singh performed the longest continuous ride standing on the seat of a motorcycle. He covered 75.2 km in 2 hr 24 min 12 sec. Hav Sandeep Kumar performed the longest motorcycle ride sitting on its handlebar. He covered 46.9 km in 1 hr 27 min 31 sec.

Tornadoes on wheels Tornadoes, the Army Service Corps (ASC) motorcycle display team led by Lt Col KK Nair created multiple records in Bengaluru, Karnataka on Nov 15, 2015. Fastest moving human pyramid on three bikes: The ASC Tornadoes team, led by  Lt Col KK Nair, formed a 32-men human pyramid on three Royal Enfield 350cc bikes, which covered 1 km in 56.23 sec along an unused stretch of NICE Road, Bengaluru. Nb Sub R Thirumavalavan, Nb Sub Rampal Yadav and Nk M Sasi Raja were the three riders. Fastest moving human pyramid on two bikes: The team, led by Lt Col KK Nair,  formed a 15-men human pyramid on two Royal Enfield 350cc bikes, which covered 1 km in 48.12 sec along an unused stretch of NICE Road, Bengaluru. Nb Sub R Thirumavalavan and Nb Sub Rampal Yadav were the riders. Sitting on its front mudguard and without touching the handlebar, Nk Rupnar Dilip P (b June  1, 1976) rode a Royal Enfield 350cc motorbike on a zigzag route for 19.1 km in 39 min 47 sec from 9.46 am. He performed it on NICE Bengaluru-Mysore expressway. Standing on its seat, Nk M Sasi Raja (b Oct 21, 1976) rode a Royal Enfield 350cc motorbike  for 19.1 km on a zigzag route in 18 min 40 sec from 9.45 am. He performed it on NICE Bengaluru-Mysore expressway. Lying prone on its seat, Sep Shewale Ravindra (b June 6, 1985) rode a Royal Enfield 350cc  motorbike for 19.1 km in 24 min 16 sec. He performed it on a zigzag route along the NICE Bengaluru-Mysore expressway. Kneeling on its seat, Capt Bunny Sharma (b Sept 8, 1988) rode a Royal Enfield 350cc  motorbike for 19.1 km in 28 min 22 sec. He performed it on a zigzag route along the NICE Bengaluru-Mysore expressway.

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adventure_2017.pmd 85 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE Largest moving human pyramid by women A team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) women personnel, the first such all-woman motorcycling display team, have demonstrated their daredevilry at several occasions starting with the first performance as a part of CRPF’s diamond jubilee celebrations at India Gate, New Delhi on Nov 2, 2014. Titled ‘Desh Ke Rakshak’, the demonstrations have been held at various places like Neemuch, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kaderpur and Rajpath in New Delhi. The record setting performances, both individual and group, included these events: Largest moving human pyramid by women: Holding a National Flag, 37 women personnel of CRPF formed a human pyramid on nine 350 cc Enfield Bullet bikes. They covered 100 m at a speed of 25 kmph. Most women on a moving bike: Riding a 350 cc Enfield Bullet bike at a speed of 30 kmph, CT Suman Yadav carried a human pyramid made up of six women holding CRPF flag for a distance of 100 m. ASI Sujata Goswami rode a 350 cc Enfield Bullet carrying a human pyramid of five members for 100 m at a speed of 30 kmph. Longest bike ride sitting on a ladder (woman): Sitting on top of a 6 ft-ladder mounted on a 350cc Enfield Bullet bike, HC Sangeeta Mishra rode it for 100 m at a speed of 30 kmph. She climbed the ladder while the bike was moving. Longest standing ride with pistols (woman): HC Meena Choudhary stood on the seat of an Enfield Bullet bike holding two pistols in shooting position in both her hands. Moving at 30 kmph, the bike covered 100 m.

Adventure awards Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2015 winners: Tashi Malik, Nungshi Malik and Debasish  Biswas (Land adventure category) Ritu Kishor Kedia (Water adventure)  B Rajkumar (Air adventure)  Harbhajan Singh (Lifetime achievement)  They were conferred the honour by the on August 29, 2016.

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adventure_2017.pmd 86 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE FOUR-WHEELER Fastest Asian tour The four member team comprising Indarkumar Nahata, Rajiv Shah, Dilipkumar Mavani and Arvindkumar Patel travelled 9,117 km from Surat, Gujarat to Singapore by road in 20 days. Driving a Land Rover, they started the journey on Nov 12, 2015 and reached Singapore on Dec 1, 2015, having passed through five countries – India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Fastest Indians at Mongol Rally The Road Runners team comprising three cousins Vivek Das, Mohan Das and Unnikrishnan Menon became the fastest Indian rallyists to complete the Mongol Rally in 2013. The 10th edition of the annual rally, organised for charity by UK-based The Adventurists, was flagged off from London on July 14, 2013 and flagged in at Ulan Bator (Ulaanbaatar), Mongolia on August 10, 2013. Driving a second hand Skoda Fabia car, the team covered 13,786 km across 16 countries in 28 days.

WR: First Trans-Siberian solo expedition Suresh Joseph (b May 14, 1958) of Kochi, Kerala became the first Indian to complete a solo expedition along the Trans-Siberian Highway from Vladivostok to St Petersburg in Russia, covering 10,117 km in 12 days 10 hr 50 min from June 4-16, 2016. His solo expedition, undertaken in a Mahindra XUV 500, started from Chennai, Tamil Nadu on May 13, 2016 and reached St Petersburg, Russia on June 16, 2016, covering 20,112 km across four countries in 34 days 10 hr 45 min!

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adventure_2017.pmd 87 23-03-2017, 09:22 First driving expedition to Icelandic glacier A 25-member team of Indians, led by Sanjay Madan and Tushar Agarwal of New Delhi, successfully completed a drive to Langjökull, the second largest glacier in Iceland with a volume of 195 cu km and up to 580 m (1,900 ft) thick ice cover, in seven days from Nov 22-28, 2015. Starting the expedition in special four-wheel drive cars (arctic trucks) from Reykjavik, the team travelled 1,302 km before returning Reykjavik. The expedition was organised by Adventures Overland, Gurgaon, Haryana. The rest of the members who came together from different parts of the country included Deepak Kattar, Ravi Gosain, Manish Vij, Bimal Deep Singh, Harish Bahl, Kapil Gupta and Aman Jain from New Delhi; Nishith Jois, Priyanka Jois, Chetan Dyamanna, Jyothi First North-South India solo drive by a woman Chetan, Sunjay Bonthala, Manisha Bonthala Vinaya Shrikant Ket (b March 17, 1984) of Pune, Maharashtra and Mayank Bhatnagar from Bengaluru; Abhijit successfully completed her North-South India four-wheeler solo Deo, Ashish Kalode and Sanjay Kulkarni from expedition from Leh, Jammu & Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, Nagpur; Jagat Aggarwal, Mehak Aggarwal and covering 3,911 km in 98 hr 56 min. Driving a Maruti Ritz car, she Saru Aggarwal from Punjab; Rishit Dalal from started the journey from Leh at 1.15 pm on June 25, 2016 and Mumbai, Samaresh Das from Kolkata and reached Kanyakumari at 4.11 pm on June 29, 2016. Aditya Raj Arora from Gurgaon.

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Longest journey by an electric car First trans-Himalayan solo expedition convoy Suresh Joseph (b May 14, 1958) of Kochi, Kerala A convoy of three Mahindra e20 cars completed set out in a Ford Endeavour to create a new the ‘Mahindra Reva e20 Goodness Drive 2015’ record in trans-Himalayan solo trip, which he organised by Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles accomplished in 18 days 13 hr and 15 min. Pvt Ltd, covering 5,395 km from Kashmir to Starting from Jammu in Jammu & Kashmir at Kanyakumari in 30 days, making it the first and 5.00 am on August 21, 2015, he reached Tezu, longest such electric car drive in the country. The Arunachal Pradesh at 6.15 pm on Sept 8, 2015. north-south expedition involving eight persons He covered 5,845 km across nine States of the was flagged off from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir Union, Nepal and Bhutan and touched altitudes up on Nov 16, 2015 (the actual drive started the to 18,380 ft. (At some sectors he had to opt for a next day at 8.00 am) and flagged in at longer route as the roads remained blocked due Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu at 4.00 pm on Dec 16, to strikes). 2015.

North-South India solo expedition by Fastest East-West India trip physically challenged Apurba Kumar Deka (b March 27, 1975), Eric Paul (b Jan 14, 1988), a wheelchair-bound Animesh Deka (b Jan 15, 1982) and Md Zillur paraplegic (paralyzed below chest) from Rohini, Rahman (b Dec 02, 1975) of Guwahati, Assam Delhi, completed a North-South India solo completed the fastest East-West India expedition expedition in a hand-controlled Maruti Swift car, from Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh to Koteshwar, covering 3,917 km in 159 hr 55 min. The journey Gujarat covering 3,771.4 km in 70 hr 52 min. began from Leh, Jammu & Kashmir at 5.30 am on They drove a Renault Duster car starting the trip June 10, 2016 and ended in Kanyakumari, Tamil at 3.15 pm on Oct 27, 2015 and ending at Nadu at 9.25 pm on June 16, 2016. 2.07 pm on Oct 30, 2015.

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Fastest GQ expedition Ajay Jagga (b March 20, 1972) of New Delhi, Gopal Krishan Sharma (b August 31, 1972) of Zirakpur, Punjab and Karan Vaid (b July 5, 1976) of Fastest GQ expedition by a physically Ghaziabad, UP embarked on the fastest Golden challenged Quadrilateral (GQ) expedition in a Ford EcoSport Eric Paul of Rohini, Delhi, a wheelchair-bound car, which they accomplished in 76 hr 19 min. paraplegic, paralysed below chest, covered the Starting the journey at 4.22 am on Sept 12, 2015, entire Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) driving a hand- the trio covered 5,907.5 km along the Delhi- controlled Maruti Swift car. Starting from Delhi at Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai-Delhi route and 9.40 am on Nov 22, 2015, he covered 5,888 km concluded it at 8.41 am on Sept 15, 2015. in less than 7 days (167 hr 36 min).

WATER SPORTS

Most standup paddling on different waterbodies Kumaran M (b March 2, 1981) of Chennai has completed standup paddleboarding (SUP) on 19 different waterbodies, including 17 in India and one each in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, as of June 30, 2016. It was part of a mission to understand the ecosystem of different waterbodies and to promote paddleboarding. Starting with a survey on Great Salt Lake backwaters near Chennai on April 5, 2015, he has undertaken 58 SUP trips covering a total paddle distance of 484 km. Kumaran also achieved the longest standup paddling (SUP) feat by covering 31 km on River Fastest across highest passes Godavari, from Pattiseema to Iskcon temple in The team comprising Sanjeev Kumar (b Jan 7, Rajamundhry, Andhra Pradesh in 3 hr during the 1979), Jitender Mor (b May 6, 1978), Kulwant 2016 monsoon season (July 3). Singh (b Feb 13, 1979) and Gopal Singh of Narwana, Haryana crossed four of the highest Himalayan passes – Khardung La (18,380 ft), Tanglang La (17,582 ft), Wari La (17,404 ft) and Marsimik La (18,632ft) – in 16 hr 6 min from 5.08 am to 9.14 pm on Sept 15, 2015. They covered 510 km from Leh to Marsimik La top driving a Nissan Terrano car.

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adventure_2017.pmd 90 23-03-2017, 09:22 Longest standup paddle-boarding in the sea Sri Krishnan (b July 31, 1991) and Siddharth C (b July 6, 1992), the two-member team from Bay of Life, Chennai accomplished the longest standup paddle-boarding (SUP) in the open sea covering 31 km on the Bay of Bengal on April 15, 2016. They ventured into the sea at Kovalam beach near Chennai at 5.40 am and paddled north to reach Marina Beach at 12.07 noon, covering the distance in 6 hr 27 min.

Most open water marathon swims in a month Raj Santosh Patil (b Jan 5, 2006) of Uran, Navi Mumbai completed eight different open water swim events along the coast of Arabian Sea in a month to become the first and youngest to achieve the feat. In all, Raj covered a total distance of 170 km during Nov 1-30, 2015. His first swim on November 1 covered 24 km from Kegaon Beach to Kanoji Angre Island in 7 hr 32 min. He followed it up with these:

. Mora Jetty – Gateway of India and back (24 km in 8 hr 54 min) on November 4

. Elephanta Island – Mandva Jetty (21 km in 6 hr 6 min) on November 8

. Rewas Jetty – Bhaucha Dhakka (22 km in 7 hr 14 min) on November 15

. Mandva Jetty – Gateway of India (17 km in 6 hr 11 min) on November 18

. Raj Bhavan – Gateway of India (15 km in 5 hr 33 min) on November 21

. Rewas Jetty – Mora Port (22 km in 5 hr 24 min) on November 25 . Belapur Jetty to Gateway of India (25 km in 10 hr 58 min) on November 30

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adventure_2017.pmd 91 23-03-2017, 09:22 ADVENTURE Marathon open water swimming (woman) Saee Sameer Sukale (b July 18, 2002) of Nerul, New Mumbai, who completed six different open water swims in Western Cape, South Africa became the first Asian and youngest Indian girl to achieve the feat. Saee was also the first girl to complete the following six events in less than a month in 2016: WR: First relay swimming expedition along the Ganga Preekstoel - Pearlies, Langebaan (8 km in 2 hr Under the auspices of Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (HQ- 25min) on March 28; Robben Island- Blouberg IDS), a team of ten members from the tri-services (Indian Army, (7.4 km in 2 hr 51 min) on April 2; Cape Point Navy and Air Force), led by Wing Commander Paramvir Singh, (8 km in 2 hr 40 min) on April 8; Llandudno- successfully undertook the ‘Ganga Avahan Expedition 2015’, a Camps Bay (8 km in 3 hr) on April 13; Westcoast 2,800 km long swimming-cum-rafting expedition covering the entire Angle - Blouberg - Robben Island - Melkbos length of Ganga, starting from Devprayag, Uttarakhand on Oct 8, (18 km in 6 hr 31 min) on April 15 and Around 2015 and culminating at Frazer Ganj, West Bengal on Nov 19, 2015. Robben Island (11 km in 4 hr 25 min) on April 20. First such expedition on Ganga, it had three swimmers covering the distance in relay format, accompanied by others in a manual raft. They swam during the day and camped at night by the riverside. The 43-day event promoted the Swachh Bharat Mission and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao movement. The swimmers included Wg Cdr Paramvir Singh (team leader), Sergeant Gullupili Narhari and Sergeant Saripilli Srihari while the rafting team comprised Flight Lieutenant Manoj Kumar, Sergeant Arun Singh Naruka, Sergeant T P Anil Kumar, Havildar Ashok Kumar, Naik Virendra Kumar Singh, Leading Seaman Bikesh Kumar and Leading Aircraftsman Amrendra Vats in addition to the three swimmers who rafted as well. Marathon open water swimming Underwater cycling by largest team Prabhat Raju Koli (16) of Mumbai completed six A team of eight people performed underwater different open water swims around Cape Town, cycling, covering a total distance of 400 m at a South Africa in less than a month from March 28 - depth of 5 m off Grande Island, Goa on Jan 6, April 20 in 2016. Of those, Prabhat was the first 2016. The team comprising Daljinder Singh, Asian to complete the 8 km Cape Point swim in Pramjeet Singh, Ramlal, Keith L Fernandes, Jason 1 hr 55 min on April 8 and the 11 km long Fernandes, Aaron B Fernandes and Wynelan Luis Around Robben Island swim in 3 hr 5 min on was led by Narinder Singh (b June 10, 1979) of April 20. The other swimming events included Kurukshetra, Haryana. Each Preekstoel - Pearlies, Langebaan (8 km in 1hr member cycled for 50 m. 55 min) on March 28, Robben Island - Blouberg Organised by 19 Degree North, (7.4 km in 2 hr 2 min) on April 2, Llandudno - under the banner of Ambey Valley Camps Bay (8 km in 2 hr 14 min) on April 13 City and Swasth Bharat Abhiyan, and Westcoast Angle - Blouberg - Robben Island the event started at 11.15 am and - Melkbos (18 km in 5 hr 30min) on April 15. ended at 12.00 noon.

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