Earlier this month, the Mumbai Fire Brigade bagged seven medals at the World Firefighters Games that were held in South Korea. The firefighters were a part of the Indian team that won over 50 medals at the games and was ranked seventh. Eventually, three officers were even awarded for being ‘toughest firefighter alive’. The 13th edition of the games took place between September 10 and 17 which was held in Chungju, South Korea.
The games started in 1990 in order to exchange firefighting information between nations. The game consists of 75 events and is held every two years. The games are on the line with the Olympics and also consist of specific ones for firefighters. This year, the event witnessed participation of more than 5,000 people from 50 countries.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade saw the participation of 13 firefighters. While the firefighters won seven medals, they stated that they received the permission to participate just two days prior to the event. They added that fitness was not an issue since the officers would work out daily and had also taken part in the National Fire games. However, this was their first attempt at the World Firefighters Games.
The officers were very happy with their achievements and performance. However, they complained that they did not like the Korean food and had to eat dal-chawal or Maggi.
Meanwhile, officers Deepak Ghosh, Ajeenath Sonavane and assistant officer Anmol Mulik won the 'toughest firefighter alive' competition. The competition consisted of several categories such as hose draw, obstacle course, tower, and climbing stairs etc. to test an officer’s speed, strength, agility, and response time.
Here is the list of medals won by Mumbai firefighters:
Three gold medals: Sanket Naik (Doubles Free Tennis), Rohit Chavan (Javelin Throw) and Pravin Kedare (Baseball).
Three silver medals: Water polo, relay 4x400, and relay 4x100 (Below-30 category) and a bronze medal.