26 year old Swiss pilot Michael Kuffer won AAI Paragliding World Cup on Saturday at Bir-Billing, in Himachal Pradesh.
Kuffer finished his task of 75.33 k in 2 hours, 29 minutes, 42 seconds, which was just 14 seconds behind Mexican Manuel Quintanilla but his steady performances in the earlier tasks ensured the overall honours. after Quintanilla.
It is Kueffer’s first World Cup. He is the young pilot from the German-speaking area in Switzerland. Kuffer was overjoyed with his success He said . “I am overjoyed and I am going to celebrate this success with a relaxed week and Iam going to see some more places around.”
However the women’s overall crown was claimed by Japan’s Yuki Sato. Sato was second in the final task, which was won by the legendary Polish pilot Klaudia Bulgakow.
State minister for urban development and president of the Billing Paragliding Association Sudhir Sharma, presented 18-inch Winged Trophy to the winners.
Kuffer, who divides his time between studying business administration and taking tourists on tandem flights in
Interlaken, Switzerland, added: “I have loved India, its food and the people. Bir-Billing is a magnificent place and it just the kind of a place a paragliding pilot would dream about.”