Three kite flyers from Karnataka will represent the nation at the 33rd Wifang International Kite Festival to be held in China from April 15 to 18.
Speaking to the media here on Thursday, President of the Kite Club of India V K Rao said the club has chosen Niranjan Rao Kadam Krishna, Naveen Danesh Rao Kesarkar and Padekatta Chandrashekhar, for their skills and financial abilities. Niranjan and Naveen are entrepreneurs from Bengaluru and Padekatta is from Mangaluru.
Rao expressed displeasure and said the government had not paid attention to kite-flying as a sport and this was the reason why India is lagging at international competitions. He said, “We met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G Parameshwara. They all took the representation and said they will look into the matter. But time is flying. The participants have to leave on April 12. Members of the Karnataka Kshatriya Maratha Parishat have assured financial support to the participants.”
The trio has been undergoing training for the last 15 days. This is the first time that members of the Club are participating in an international event. “Before this we have taken part in many competitions held in Delhi, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, Ballari, Goa and Gujarat. We have also won many prizes,” he added. Participants from 25 countries will take part in the Wifang festival. Winners will be given certificates and trophies. The competition will be held in five levels and the trio will fly a thread of 500 kites of different colours. They will also carry a 10 feet 3D Star kite, power kite and a kite on environmental awareness.
