National Skiing Championship starts in Manali

Solang Nala (HP), Feb 11 (ANI): A five-day National Senior Alpine Skiing Championship kick-started at the world-famous slopes of Solang Nala in Manali on Wednesday.

The sporting event, which is a part of the National Winters Sports 2010, is being organised by the Himachal Pradesh Winter Games Association.

Eighteen registered winter games club associations, along with teams from states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are taking part in the spectacular event.

The championship also has entries from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

However, the event was delayed for two days due to heavy snowfall in the region. Clear weather conditions on Wednesday gave some relief to the organisers.

"People are very excited out here and we got enough of snow in the last few days, so all the players are very excited," said Roop Singh Negi, member of the organising committee.

In the women's joint slalom event, Priti Dibiya from Uttarakhand came first while Meenakshi from Himachal Pradesh finished at the second position.

There were thirteen women participants from various states who took part in the women joint slalom event.

The winter carnival was started in 1977 to boost snow sports, as well as the culture of the region and the tourism industry. (ANI)