SPORTS

Teenagers who scaled the vertical limits
 Youngest group to climb Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9
Ever heard of an Army Chief delivering a bunch of chocolates to mountaineers? But indeed this happened when Nepal's Army Chief General Gaurav SJB Rana gave a supporting hand to the dedicated group of young school students-turned- mountaineers, in achieving their aim, to scale Mount Everest.

The team of six young teens — Fatheh Singh Brar, Shubham Kaushik, Prithvi Chahal, Raghav Joneja, Ajay Sohal and Guribadat Singh — recently achieved the feat of becoming the youngest team to conquer the Mount Everest, shared their experience of scaling the peak during an interaction with the media. Reportedly a team member Hakikat Singh failed to clear the camp due to technical snag in his oxygen cylinder.

During their venture, they got a chance to meet Nepal's army chief, an ex-student of the same school, who offered his all possible help to the students. The students with no hesitation dropped a text message on the chief's phone with a demand for a bunch of chocolates and fresh meat. Within a gap of one single day, the boys received a package containing their ordered items.

"He is like a grandfather for us and was highly supportive during our stay at Katmandu. He shared every aspect and experience of his life. He provided us all the possible help and even sent chocolates. The Chief was indeed a morale booster behind our achievement", said 16-years-old Fateh Singh, a member of the squad. His counterpart, 17-year-old Guribadat Singh added, "It was a fine gesture by the Army Chief, to send us chocolates. He provided all the help that we required. We were well supported by the choppers, which provided us food and other essential things", said Guribadat.

On their achievement, 16-year-old Ajay Sohal and 17-year-old Prthivi Chahal, added, "Scaling Mount Everest was not an easy task. Our seven month long training under the guidance of Col. Neeraj Rana played a great role in achieving our aim. The contingent did well under the guidance of seniors and the experienced persons," said the duo.

Worried parents
Although the achievement is enormous but for the parents of Shubham Kaushik, a member of the squad, it was a tough time. His mother kept fasts for the entire period, to ensure the team's safe return to Katmandu. On May 25, she broke her fast while Shubham's father had sleepless nights. "I had decided to observe fasts for the safe arrival of the boys. After a gap of over a month, they came back and it was a relief for us. I am happy with my son's achievement and wish a bright future to the squad,” said Rekha Kaushik.

A bag that turned out to be a dead body

17-year-old Guribadat Singh, a young lad from an army family and a brave heart, faced the shock of his life when he saw a dead body wrapped in a blue colour jacket which he thought to be a bag full of equipment.

"I saw a blue coloured thing while taking deep breath while returning. Unaware of what exactly it was, I just put my hand on it and soon realised that it was a dead body. I was numb for a few minutes and opted to move from there," said Guribadat.

Sharing his experience on a telephonic conversation, he added, "I was told to cut my hair due to heavy snow. I was cautioned with chances of paralysis attack. But being a Sikh, I refused to cut down my hair. It was all by god's grace that I manage to clear the aim. At one point of time, I had to sit for about one and a half hour because my sherpa fell asleep and in that particular hour, I was short of oxygen. Later, I asked an official to help me and I continued with the journey". Guribadat skipped the media gathering due to his visit to Golden Temple Amritsar.

Youngest but dedicated

At the age of 15 years, when a majority of the students keep themselves busy with books and cricket, Raghav Joneja opted to join the Mount Everest Achievers Club. Youngest among them, he achieved the feat with a smiling face. "It was an amazing experience. My parents were a bit hesitant but the seven-month long training was good enough to let me take the decision and handle all the conditions. Being the youngest, I was extra cautious and also under surveillance of all of them," said Raghav. 

Base Camp- 5300 mts
Camp 2- 6500 mts
Camp 3- 7300 mts
Camp 4- 7900 mts
Scaled Mount Everest- 8848 mts (29, 029 ft)

Dhruv Pandove trophy Patiala rout Ludhiana
Tribune News Service

A batsman plays a shot during a match for the Dhruv Pandove Trophy at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Sunday.  Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Chandigarh, June 9
The Warriors Club went down against Spartans 2-0 in a match played at the Government College for Girls, Sector 42, in the ongoing Chandigarh Football League, here today. Vishal and Sahil scored a goal each to ensure Spartans' victory. In the other matches, Sunveer scored a hat- trick for Oasis to help them register a 5-1 win over Dynamic Devils. The CR7 defeated Gunners 2-1, as Sumit scored both the goals for CR7.

In the boys (U-14) matches, the team of Avengers and Yellow Rangers registered a win in their respective matches against Victory Strikers and Youth Warriors, respectively. Avengers defeated their rivals 6-0 whereas Yellow Rangers defeated Youth Warriors 
2-0. In the third match, the team of 7 strikers defeated YFC 2-1.

Chandigarh, June 9
The Chandigarh Table Tennis Association announced their annual calendar during the annual general meeting here today. During the meeting, it was decided to organise the Open Table Tennis Tournament from July 18 to 20.

In the same month, the first Ranking Table Tennis Tournament will be organised from July 26 to 28, while the RS Mehta Memorial Open TT Tournament will be conducted from August 16 to18. The NPS-18 Table Tennis Ranking Tournament will be held from August 30 to September 1 and the Sub- Junior Ranking Open Tournament will be held in the month of September. In October, the association will conduct Sub-Junior Chandigarh State Championship from October 10 to 13, whereas the Junior and Senior Chandigarh State Table Tennis Championship will be organised from October 31 to November 3. —TNS