The first World Skydiving Day saw a rare event take place in India as well, when Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat took to the skies to experience the thrilling sport for himself. Undertaking a tandem skydive in Haryana, videos showed the 53-year-old enjoying himself, even going on to say "good good, maza aa gaya" when he was asked, mid-dive, how he was feeling.
The videos showed the tourism minister getting lessons in skydiving before taking off in a plane and jumping, with an instructor, while another skydiver captured the jump on camera. "Super excited," was the minister's response when he was asked how he was feeling while taking off and, after the parachute opened, he expressed his happiness at getting the opportunity to experience skydiving.
Speaking to reporters after landing safely, Mr Shekhawat said, "Today is a thrilling day for me but, more importantly, it is an important day for the world and for the world of aerosports, because World Skydiving Day is being celebrated for the first time. I can see aerosports and tourism touching new heights from today."
"Thousands of Indians used to enjoy these sports in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand and other places and they will now get to experience it here. This will also boost tourism. I have flagged off India's first skydiving aircraft and I wish great success to the team. As the tourism minister, it is my responsibility to develop new tourist spots. We would like to encourage this in more places, including Madhya Pradesh and Goa," he said.
The dive took place at Skyhigh, India's only civilian skydiving drop zone at Narnaul airstrip, Haryana.
The first World Skydiving Day, which will repeat each year on the second Saturday in July, is an initiative by four of the world's leading skydiving associations - The US Parachute Association (USPA), Australian Parachute Federation, British Skydiving and the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association. According to the associations, the event "aims to celebrate the unforgettable experience of skydiving while also setting the record for the most skydives on this day worldwide".
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