Kochi: Melpadom Chundan, rowed by the Pallathuruthy Boat Club, registered its fourth consecutive victory in the sixth season of the Champions Boat League (CBL), winning a closely fought sixth race organised by the Kerala Tourism Department at Piravom on Saturday.Melpadom clocked 3:26.26 to finish first in the race held on the Muvattupuzha river,one of the fastest stretches in the CBL circuit. Aroma Chundan, rowed by the Aroma Boat Club, finished second in 3:26.32, while Veeyapuram Chundan, rowed by UBC Kainakary FC, finished third in 3:28.08.
This is the fourth consecutive win of the Melpadom in this season.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Shri.Anoop Jacob inaugurated the races at Piravom. Piravom Municipality Chairman Shri.K.R. Pradeep Kumar, Vice-chairperson Smt.Annamma Domy, representatives of local self-government institutions, senior officials of the Tourism Department and members of the CBL technical committee attended the inaugural ceremony.
Based on their best timings in the heats, Melpadom Chundan, Aroma Chundan and Veeyapuram Chundan qualified for the final. As in the fifth race at Kochi’s Marine Drive, UBC Kainakary FC made a strong start and led in the first half of the race. Veeyapuram was ahead at the halfway mark.Aroma and Melpadom, however, produced a strong finish. Aroma held a narrow lead until about 50 metres from the finish, but the Pallathuruthy rowers edged ahead in the final stretch to win by just six microseconds.Aroma Chundan, the winners of this year’s Nehru Trophy and the first two races of the sixth CBL season, had to settle for second place. The victory gave PBC Melpadom its fourth consecutive win in the sixth season.Melpadom leads the points table with 55 points, followed by Aroma with 54 points and Veeyapuram with 47 points.Competitions for Iruttukuthi and Veppu boats were also held as part of the event.The finishing order at Piravom was: Melpadom Chundan (Pallathuruthy Boat Club), first; Aroma Chundan (Aroma Boat Club, Paravur, Kollam), second; Veeyapuram Chundan (UBC Kainakary FC), third; Niranam Chundan (Niranam Boat Club, Niranam), fourth; Cheruthana Chundan (NBC Nattakom Boat Club), fifth; Nadubhagam Chundan (PBC Punnamada NCFC Boat Club), sixth; Punyalan Niranam (Kumarakom Town Boat Club, Kumarakom), seventh; Arpookara Chundan (Immanuel Boat Club, Kumarakom), eighth; and Thalavady Chundan (Village Boat Club), ninth.
The remaining league races of the season, which has 11 races including the final, will be held at Thazhathangadi, Kottayam, on October 24; Pulinkunnu, Alappuzha, on October 31; Kainakary on November 7; and Kayamkulam on November 14. The sixth season of the CBL will conclude with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 21.
The first-place finishers at each race venue will receive ₹5 lakh, while the second- and third-placed teams will receive ₹3 lakh and ₹1 lakh respectively. Each team will also receive ₹4 lakh as bonus. The club finishing first in the championship will receive ₹25 lakh, while the second- and third-placed clubs will receive ₹15 lakh and ₹10 lakh respectively.
