Itanagar (Arunachal Prades), Dec 30 : The second edition of the most successful endurance event of the country, Gumball India, organised by In Car Nation Sports culminated its journey today at Kaho in Arunachal Pradesh. The Gumball India 2021 started its journey this year from Koteshwar in Kutch district of Gujarat on Dec 24. The sixteen participating teams faced a tough 4,000kilometres non-stop drive to be a finisher in this year’s event.
Drivers from various cities including Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Jammu, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi participated in this year’s event.
The event was part of ‘Aazadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’-Celebration of India’s 75 years of Independence under initiative by Arunachal Pradesh Tourism to promote domestic tourism in the state. To encourage more inclusiveness, the organisers, InCarNation Sports, had also tied up with Padma Shri Deepa Malik ,NGO Wheeling Happiness which provided free entry to two teams of specially abled drivers. Padma Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympics Games and through her NGO Wheeling Happiness is working with people with disabilities for the universal inclusion, awareness & disability rights.
Speaking on the event, Deepa Malik,Founder of Wheeling Happiness and the president of Indian Paralympic Committee said: “When I started participating in car rallies, I was the first& only paraplegic woman to do so and I’m so happy to promote the same passion for adventure & motorsports among people with disabilities through my foundation Wheeling Happiness to break stereotypes. I feel so elated that so many people with disabilities have come forward to explore driving and adventure.
I want everyone to live their passion and believe in their abilities beyond disability. We are very proud of our continued association with Gumball India. This is the second year in a row that Wheeling Happiness Foundation has fielded the entries of drivers with disabilities for this adventurous endurance drive competition across India. This time, a differently abled woman participant Saumya Davar undertook this challenging endurance drive; and the second team was led by Joginder who was a passionate driver before his injury and with our support returned to the roads for the first time since becoming a paraplegic. It was also very exciting that our team of Digvijay & Prashant from the first edition returned once again for Gumball 2021.
Kudos to Sudev Barar for joining hands with Wheeling Happiness to further the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make our new India a nation of equal opportunities. This indeed is truly #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav”
In the 2nd edition of Gumball India, this year, the participants drove through 4000 + kilometres, virtually non-stop and reached the finishing point. The teams navigated through fifteen secret checkpoints along the way that was revealed to them at the start of the event. Participants were free to take any route they wanted but they had to check-in at all the intermediate checkpoints.
Speaking of the event, Sudev Barar, Core Organiser of the event said: “We are glad to end Gumball India on a high note this year. This is the 2nd edition of.Gumball India and it was a huge success this year. Every team gave their best and drove across cities and places of historical significance in the most challenging, adrenaline pumping and intense endurance sport of our nation. We welcome all the team that participated and thank all our partners and supporters. We promise to come back bigger, better and with more adrenaline pumping challenges next year. I am confident Gumballl India will be one of the most popular endurance challenge of the country in the coming years.”
Speaking of the event, one of the participants said: “Deciding to join the Gumball India challenge this year is one of the best things I did in my life.
It was a great experience to drive through secret check points and places of historic significance. At times I felt like I was in a real life adventure game. If you are a sports enthusiast and an adrenaline junkie, you got to participate in this. It is the experience of a lifetime.”
All the participating member’s cars were monitored by a central tracking system which kept track of the distance, speed, driving time and stopping time and also passage check-ins.
It was a real endurance test with 82 hours of non stop driving through Rann of Kutch , Aravalli Hills , historical monuments of Madhya Pradesh, plains of Bihar and Assam. The event culminated with the Indian flag hoisting ceremony at Kaho village in Arunachal Pradesh and with the singing of the national anthem by the Indian army.
The prize distribution was held at Golden Pagoda, Namsai with District Commissioner R. K. Sharma and Superintendent of Police Dr. D. W Thungon handing out the trophies to the winners.
Last year the event started from Kanyakumari. The next edition of Gumball India will be back in 2022 with a more difficult endurance challenge. adventures and adrenaline rush.
