ALAPPUZHA: History was repeated after nearly six decades in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR). The Nadubhagom chundan rowed by Pallathuruthy Boat Club lifted the prestigious trophy after a gap of 67 years. In 1952, Nadhubhagom chundan rowed by Nadubhagom Boat Club led by Chacko Mappila lifted the first trophy and the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru jumped on the boat, immortalising those moments in the history of the regatta.
Champakulam chundan rowed by Boat Club, Kainakari, came second and Karichal chundan rowed by Police Boat club bagged the third place. Devas chundan rowed by NCDC Boat Club in Kumarakom got the fourth position. The final round ended in a photo finish for all boats.
Narayanan Kutty, captain of Pallathuruthy Boat Club, said he dedicating this trophy for his entire team. A total of 79 boats, including 23 snake boats, participated in this year’s Nehru Trophy Boat Race. Of the 23 snakeboats, 20 took part in NTBR, and the remaining participated in the exhibition race. Pulinkunnu Chundan won the exhibition race.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Champions Boat League (CBL) in the presence of cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar here on Saturday. Ministers T M Thomas Isaac and Kadakampally Surendran, A M Ariff, MP, MLAs Thomas Chandy, Saji Cheriyan and R Rajesh and other attended the programme.
There were six heats and the CBL competitions were held in three. The nine snake boats, which reached the finishing point in the shortest time in the 2018 NTBR contested in the maiden CBL. The nine snake boats which took the shortest time to reach the finishing point in this year’s Nehru Trophy qualified for CBL’s 2020 edition.
The league, with prize money totalling `5.9 crore, will see nine teams rowing for top honours.
There are 12 races in CBL that concludes on November 23. The first three winners of each CBL match gets `5 lakh, `3 lakh and `1 lakh respectively. All participants are entitled to a bonus prize of `4 lakh per match.