Friday, September 21, 2012

Mumbai boy becomes youngest skydiver

Krish Shanghvi, the eight-year old from Mumbai recently became the youngest skydiver on the planet, when he jumped off a plane from an altitude of 10,000 feet in Mozzel Bay, South Africa.

The act involved a thrilling 45-second free fall at 200 kilometers per hour, before the parachute unfurled.

Shanghvi achieved the dive in tandem with trainer Mr. Henk Van Wky.

His elder brother, Parth, holds the record of becoming the youngest scuba diver in the world. Parth achieved the feat in February 2010 in Goa.

Speaking to mediapersons, Shanghvi's father, Mehul Upendra Shanghvi, said that Krish was inspired by Parth's achievements.

"Getting inspired by his brother's feat, young Krish, who was only six years then, wanted to break some record," he said.

"We thought of skydiving, but in India the minimum age for skydiving is 16. So, we contacted some skydiving centers in Slovenia, where there is no age restriction for skydiving. But Krish was too small to fit in the Harness then" he added.

The standard three student from SVKM International School in Vile Parle has been awarded a certificate by Unique World Records, and the family has also applied to Limca Book of Records to have his name included.

Previously, the youngest skydiver in the world was Romanian girl Valentina Mihanciu, who performed the feat at the age of nine.

The record of being the youngest skydiver in India was held by Kolkata's Anaina Malik who had achieved the feat at the age of 13, jumping in Mauritius.

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