Sky Diving Should Be Included in the Mainstream of Sports-Urges Ace Sky Diver Shital Mahajan

New Delhi, 07:  World’s only Woman to Sky Dive on North-South Poles And 7 Continents and Padmashri Awardee, Shital Mahajan says, she keenly desires that Sky Diving should be an integral part of the mainstream sports. After achieving a stupendous feat performing skydiving over both the poles and 7 continents, she was in the National Capital and visited Maharashtra Information Centre and interacted with the media persons, today.

Shital Mahajan is the only woman in the world so far to skydive over both the poles -  the North Pole, the South Pole and over all the seven continents –Antartica, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America.  This rarest of the rare feat, she achieved it on 22^nd April, 2017. 

Speaking on her International and National records, she has an almost endless list. Chasing her dream of becoming a sky diver, she has pursued her career from 2004. On 18^th of April, 2004, she jumped on a static line parachute from North Pole with a height of 2400 ft, without any practice or training and in a record temperature of minus 37 degrees Celsius. Her second jump was a free fall accelerated jump on the South Pole in December 2006. She jumped from the height of 11,600 ft with a temperature of minus 38 degrees. This daring sportswoman made another history by jumping from an Aircraft at 13000 ft and ending with a goofy but safe.

Answering to media on National Records, she says, she is the First Indian Civilian Woman to perform High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump on 20^th of May, 2017 at California, USA.  She became the First Indian Woman to perform maximum number of Parachute Jumps on 17 September 2017 performing 700 jumps.  She has done HALO skydiving from more than 30,000 feet with the help of oxygen mask and cylinder free fall speed of 230 ft per hour.   She exclaims with great ease that she has entered the India Book of Records, on 22^nd of November 2017.  She was the only woman amongst 8 men to perform this herculean task.

Expressing her keen desire to train at least 100 Shital Mahajans, she has been striving for Skydiving to bring it into the mainstream sports.  She is already an instructor now and that she would be organizing a Skydiving workshop in the Jalgaon District of Maharashtra.  Recalling her Padmashri Award day, she recalls and speaks with pride receiving it from the Hands of Former President, Smt. Pratibhatai Patil in 2011.  Today, Ms Mahajan holds 6 World Records and 17 National Records, a reason for everyone to envy.  She fondly recalls of all the help and support extended by Former President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam (Late) to her to skydive on the South Pole.

Deputy Director of Maharashtra Information Centre, Dayanand Kamble, PRO Amarjyot Kaur Arora, Sub-Editor Ritesh Bhuyar and all staff extended her a warm welcome. At this time of the interaction, Delhi Bureau Chief of Saamna, Nilesh Kulkarni interviewed her live in this office, which can be watched on our official You Tube channel, FaceBook Account and Twitter handles.