2 days ago
New Zealand kayakers steal the show at 11th edition of Malabar River Festival finale
Two New Zealanders grabbed the titles of 'Rapid Raja' and 'Rapid Rani' at the 11th edition of the Malabar River Festival, which concluded at Elanthukkadavu near Pulloorampara on Sunday (July 27, 2025).
Ryan O'Conner and Rata Lowell-Smith recorded the best times in their respective categories in the Downriver Race, the final event of the festival, which was shifted to Pulikkayam due to high water levels in the Iruvazhinjipuzha at Pulloorampara, where it was originally scheduled to be held.
Kilian Ivelic of Chile and Arjun Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand secured the second and third positions in the men's category, while Millie Chamberlain and Dayla Ward, both from New Zealand, finished second and third in the women's category. The top three finishers in both categories were awarded prize money of ₹1.2 lakh, ₹60,000, and ₹30,000, respectively.
Among the Indian kayakers, Arjun Singh Rawat secured the top position, followed by Amar Singh Ankit and Kuldeep Singh in second and third place, respectively.
Meanwhile, Akshay Ashok, Adam Mathew Sibi, Nikhil Das, Sudhakar Jena, Ryan Varghese, Dona Marcella, and E. Swaliha were selected as the best kayakers from Kerala and awarded ₹10,000 each. Anak, Adam Mathew Sibi, and Karishma Diwan received special awards for being the best kayakers in the under-18 category. Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas gave away the prizes to the winners at the valedictory event held at Elanthukkadavu on Sunday evening.
'Malabar River Festival is garnering international attention and is being considered one of the five biggest kayaking festivals in the world,' he said, adding that the tourism sector in Kerala is evolving with the times and adopting newer trends that the rest of the world could follow.
Linto Joseph, MLA, presided over the valedictory function, while Tourism Director Shikha Surendran, Joint Director D. Gireesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) Binu Kuriakose, representatives of the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association (IKCA), and presidents of various upland grama panchayats in Kozhikode were present.
The festival was organised by the KATPS and the Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council, under the aegis of the Department of Tourism and with technical support from the IKCA.
