‘Charanbeel lake’ of ‘Moprigan’ in Guwahati saw an absolute dominance of Malayali athletes representing Kerala and other states.
The Rowing and the Kayaking events held here proved to be a get together for the ‘Kuttanadan’ (Alappuzha) athletes. There is nothing to be surprised of this dominance. Who can beat the Kuttanadans whose life and rowing are interlinked, whose spirit of unity and sportsmanship is world famous through the Snake Boat races and whose only passion other than tapioca and fish curry is boats and rowing? The majority 25 members of the 27 members of the Kerala team including the coaches are from Allapuzha district.
A member including the coach of the Andra Pradesh team is from Alappuzha district of Kerala. The services team also has an Alappuzha athlete (Shaji Kumar – former Asian Games Medalist) is also from the ‘Venice of the south’.
Assam coach himself is a Malayali. Sumesh, an athlete in the Delhi troop is also a Malayali.
