Jammu: The Northern Command’s General Officer Commanding-in-chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday felicitated the winners of the first Inter-services X-Country Championship in Bir Billing and expressed confidence that the pilots would perform equally well in other national and international events.
Lt Gen Dwivedi witnessed wing control and skills of accuracy, coupled with X-country navigation by paragliding pilots in Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh — the world’s second-highest paragliding site at 8,000 ft.
An Indian Army official said the inter-services competition would not only achieve synergy among the services but also create a pool of trained pilots for operational tasks behind enemy lines.
Lt Gen Dwivedi congratulated the winners for showcasing their skills in a X-country terrain and expressed confidence that the paragliding pilots would bring laurels to the country and their respective services from other national and international events.
“The first such championship was held at Bir Billing by Dah Division, under the aegis of Army Adventure Wing from October 29 till Tuesday. Teams comprising paragliding pilots from the Indian Army and the Indian Navy participated in the competition,” Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said.
The three-day competition culminated with a cultural programme followed by the awards presentation.
The competition saw the participation of paragliding pilots who demonstrated awe-inspiring wing control and accuracy, coupled with X-country navigation, he said.
The first-of-its-kind competition provided an excellent opportunity for the paragliding pilots to showcase their skills in front of some of India’s best paragliding coaches and umpires, Lt Col Anand added.
The ability of paragliding flights to last several hours and cover large distances are of great importance to the Armed Forces, he said.
The competition has strengthened the bonhomie between the services and reinforced commonality and cohesiveness, he added.
