ALAPPUZHA:
Rowing westward against a bright evening sun, all the teams displayed special vigour at the ninth round of the Champions Boat League (CBL) today, even as Tropical Titans continued to assert their supremacy by finishing first yet another time ahead of the finals later this month.
The winning team timed 3:37.59 at Pulinkunnu leg of the 12-leg championship modelled on IPL cricket. Finishing second were Raging Rowers (3:45.75), while Mighty Oars (3:46.79) came third amid a cheering crowd of 1.3 lakh on both sides of the Pampa river.
The ‘Nerolac Excel Fastest Team of the Day’ went to Tropical Titans with the best timing of 3:35.67 down the 900-metre track during the heats. Today’s round marked the exit of the all-Saturday championship from low-altitude Kuttanad, as the rest three legs are slated at Kayamkulam, Kallada and Kollam further down the state.
Kerala Tourism is organising the pioneering three-month championship that began on August 31 and is concluding on November 23. The event offers prize monies totalling Rs 5.9 crore that makes CBL the country’s fourth highest-paid sports tournament. At the end of the Pulinkunnu round, Tropical Titans stand atop the overall tally with 128 points, followed by Raging Rowers (63) and Mighty Oars (59). In the previous round at Kainakary eight km northeast of here, Tropical Titans had won their second hat-trick at the CBL.
Standing fourth on the CBL table are Coast Dominators with 55 points, followed by Backwater Knights (45) and Pride Chasers (42). Seventh down the tally are Backwater Warriors (26), Thunder Oars at 23 and Backwater Ninjas (17). The day’s topper secured Rs 5 lakh, followed by Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh for the second and third finishers. All participating teams are entitled to Rs 4 lakh per match. The overall winner of the championships is entitled to Rs 25 lakh, followed by Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for the second and third prize winners.
The Pulinkunnu round was inaugurated by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Krishna Teja. Among the other VIPs at the event were Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP; former MLA C K Sadasivan; Cochin Shipyard Director B Radhakrishna Menon; STIHL India MD Parind Prabhudesai; and Varghese Antony of Kansai Nerolac.
