PBC Comes Back Winning at CBL-4, Pushes VBC into Second at Karuvatta Race

ALAPPUZHA:
Pushing Village Boat Club (VBC) by microseconds in the last moment, Pallathurthi Boat Club (PBC) finished first at Karuvatta today, regaining their supremacy in the fourth edition of Champions Boat League (CBL-4) being organised by Kerala Tourism.

Rowing the illustrious Karichal snake-boat, PBC emerged the toppers at the fourth race of CBL-4 by covering the distance in 3.51:11 minutes as against 3.52:01 of the runners-up, paddling Veeyapuram. Coming third was Niranam Boat Club (rowing Niranam chundan) at 3.52:65 minutes.

The three teams qualified for this evening’s finals, based on the best time in the heats, where PBC had topped the list of the nine teams. In the final, all three boats fought neck-to-neck in the first two quarters.

Towards the third quarter, PBC earned an edge over their rivals. At this Niranam, on the second track, moved to the second position and VBC was seen trailing by a few inches. Then, into the last quarter, VBC made an incredible leap in the last quarter and improved their position, but that wasn’t good enough to outsmart PBC at the finishing line.

The Karuvatta race placed PBC atop the overall table. VBC stands second, while UBC Kainakary (rowing Thalavadi snake-boat) is at the third position.

UBC Kainakary finished fourth today, followed by Kumarakam Town Boat Club (rowing Nadubhagam). At the sixth position was Kumarakam Boat Club (Melppadam boat). At the seventh was Punnamada Boat Club (Champakulam), while (Alappuzha Town Boat Club (Paipad) came eighth. Finishing last was Changanassery Boat Club (Ayaaparam Valia Divanji).

Chief Whip N Jayaraj, MLA, inaugurated the race. Others present were H Salam MLA, representatives of local self-governing bodies, Tourism department officials and members of the CBL management committee.

The next race of CBL-4 is at Kayamkulam (December 14). The following weekend is the grand finale, coinciding with Kollam President’s Trophy, on December 21.

The teams finishing first, second and third in the league matches get Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. Based on the overall performance in the six races, the topper will be given Rs 25 lakh, the runner-up Rs 15 lakh and the team finishing third Rs 10 lakh.

After each match, all the participating teams receive Rs 3 lakh, and the snake-boat owners get Rs 1 lakh each as a bonus.