Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for 2024 announced

Mountaineer Baljeet Kaur, who became the first Indian to scale five 8000-metre peaks in a single season, is among the four winners of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for the year 2024, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced on Wednesday.

The awards recognise outstanding achievements by individuals in the field of adventure and seek to "promote a spirit of endurance, risk-taking, teamwork and quick and effective decision-making in challenging situations."

Baljeet had achieved this feat in 2022 and a year later, the 30-year-old had hit the headlines again for scaling Mount Annapurna, which is the 10th highest peak in the world. She had gone missing after scaling the peak and was rescued after 19 hours.

The Himachal Pradesh climber has been finalised in the land adventure category alongside Skalzang Rigzin, the first Indian to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support.

The 44-year-old's expedition record also includes climbs of Mt. Lhotse (8,516m) and Mt. Annapurna I (8,091m).

Rimo Saha is the lone water adventure winner in the list. The 36-year-old international para Channel swimmer, whose lower right leg is disabled, has bagged 48 gold, 37 silver and 17 bronze medals in National Para Swimming Championships and 16 gold medals in Open Water Sea Swimming Competitions since beginning his career in 2004.

Shiv Prasad Chamoli, the former head of Uttarakhand's Winter Games Association and also a former DIG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, has been chosen for the lifetime achievement award.

The awardees will be presented the honours by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The dates of the function will be announced in due course.

Each awardee will receive a statuette, a certificate and prize money of Rs 15 lakh.

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