INDIA. Mumbai: The IN-MDL Cup 2021 organized by the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), Mumbai under the aegis of Yachting Association of India (YAI) for all Senior Olympic classes as the YAI Senior National 2021, began on Wednesday.
The regatta titled “the Indian Navy – Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (IN-MDL) Cup” began in an impressive opening ceremony presided over by Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh,
Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Western Naval Command.
A Sail Parade of 75 sailing boats was also conducted from Oyster Rock to Middle Ground off Gateway of India to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence on an inaugural day.
The races are being conducted between Sunk Rock Lighthouse and Prongs Lighthouse in Mumbai harbour. The regatta will be a ranking event and will be conducted till September 06. It will also be used for selection trials for the forthcoming Asian Games 2022 scheduled to be held in China.
Top Indian yachtsmen and women, including Tokyo 2020 Olympians Nethra Kumaran, Vishnu Sarvanan, Varun Thakkar, and KC Ganapathy, from 13 premier sailing clubs across India, will be participating in the event. Over 116 participants, including a record number of 28 yachtswomen, have registered for the event. Three new Olympic class boats – Kiteboarding, Wind Foiling (iQ foil), and NACRA 17 – are being introduced. The other classes of boats that would be racing are Laser (Standard & Radial), 470 (Mixed) 49er, 49erFX and
Over 13 premium sailing clubs from across India including INWTC (Mumbai), INWTC (Goa), INWTC (Malad), INWTC (Kochi), Army Yachting Node (AYN), Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Sailing Association (EMESA), Bhopal, Core of Engineering Sailing Club (CESC), Tamil Nadu Sailing Association (TNSA), Goa Yachting Association (GYA), National Defence Academy (NDA) and National Sailing School (NSS), Bhopal are participating in the event.
Victory Flame
In another development, the Victory Flame (Vijay Jyoti) which was received by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at Gateway of India in Mumbai on Wednesday traveled to Indian Naval Dockyard on Thursday. The Victory Flame is being taken across the country as part of Swarnim Vijay Varsh, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the 1971 war victory. The flame was brought to Mumbai, by personnel of the 15 Punjab Regiment.
On Thursday the Victory Flame was received by Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, at the Gaurav Stambh Memorial in a solemn ceremony. The Commander-in-Chief paid homage to the Bravehearts who laid down their lives during the war by laying a wreath at the Stambh. A ceremonial guard was also paraded to mark the occasion.
On completion of this ceremony, the Victory Flame was taken to the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron, the Killer Squadron, which inherited the legacy of courage and bravery from the boats that played a pivotal role in the 1971 war. It was Missile Boats of the Killer Squadron that caused havoc in Karachi in Dec 1971 and deservedly won the epithet ‘Killers’.
The Navy Day each year is celebrated on Dec 04 to commemorate the heroic acts of these ‘First Strike’ elements of the Indian Navy that live by the singular aim and purpose of ‘Hit First, Hit Hard. The event was attended by some esteemed veterans of the Killer Squadron that had participated in Operation Trident and Operation Python during the war.
On the occasion, Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar felicitated some of the veterans, who spoke during the event and shared their glorious experiences of bravery. The event concluded with Rear Admiral Atul Anand, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA), delivering the vote of thanks and reiterating the Killer Squadron’s commitment to remain ever ready to sail into harm’s way and strike fear in the enemy when called upon to do so, in line with the rich legacy the Squadron has inherited from its revered forebears.
