Atul Karwal JCP Sector-II
It was the 15th jump for Atul Karwal, JCP Sector-II, who took part in the sky-diving organised at Kankaria Lake as part of the Kankaria Carnival on Thursday.
Karwal, who is participating in the sky-diving event at Kankaria for the first time, had earlier participated in a similar exercise at Vibrant Gujarat and the Tarnetar Fair.
The cop said that in this sport a mistake is never forgiven, so one should not make any.
Karwal said that despite his experience in the sport, he is indeed scared before every jump. "It is scary. But then I remember the fun moments, how I enjoy doing it and go through the drills. This helps in keeping the fear at bay. But one should always remember that one can't be casual in this sport," said Karwal.
The cop also believes that the city youth have great potential for adventure sports. "The common refrain is that Gujaratis don't have an adventure streak in them. One should remember that the community is known for its entrepreneurship which like adventure sports involves risk. Hence, I believe that Gujaratis are keen on adventure sports; what we need is to provide them with adequate facilities," said Karwal.
Wing Commander Sanjay Thapar
"Anybody who can jump from a table and run 100 mts is good enough to be trained for sky-diving," is how Wing Commander Sanjay Thapar describes the requirement in a potential sky-diver.
Commander Thapar who has been into sky-diving for 30 years, admits that the Kankaria event is a cakewalk. "But one should never forget that this is a sport that has inherent risks. So we never take chances," said Commander Thapar. He added cheekily that sky-diving was easier than driving on the city's roads.
Thapar, who will be part of the second team of sky-divers, said, even after over 5,000 jumps he still gets apprehensive before a jump.
"Anyone who tells you that he/she is not afraid before a jump is lying. This is a sport in which you truly learn to tell how long a second really is," said Thapar.
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