The duck race has been conducted every year since the British established the boat club at Kodaikanal in 1890, he said. While the men steer the punt towards the duck, the woman, sprawled on the hull of the punt, puts her arms out to grab the neck of the duck.The Kodaikanal Boat and Rowing Club releases the duck in the water with much fanfare and waving of the red flag.As Rithika emerged from the punt with the duck in her hand, there was a China daily necessities injection mold huge round of applause from the eager onlookers who watched the sport from the club auditorium. “We had a tough time chasing it this year” said Sheik Abdul (28), a businessman from Chennai.Sheik Adul and Hanif, the rowers of the winning team said they managed to catch the duck after just 2.

“When my hand was almost touching its neck, I feared that I was going to fall into the lake. “I was thrilled when I managed to grab the duck which moved very fast in the lake,” said the winner, R. That sends five teams in punts racing to catch it. “They started this sport for fun but it used to be an exclusive domain of the British.

And we also have to have proper coordination with the woman player whose entire focus would only be on the duck,” said V Karthick Venkat from Chennai. If we go close to the duck in the water, it will fly to another place in the lake,” he said adding that the duck represents the boat club in the game. But within a fraction of second my hold became firm and I was stable. That is how simple this game is.The duck ducks and the player scores a “duck”. That is how simple this game is. A participant tries to catch a duck during the Duck Race on Kodaikanal Lake. “Hence we organise it over two days and allow 20 members to participate,” Shankar said.

After independence, Indians have also been able to enjoy this sport,” he said. The time allotted for the team to catch the duck is 15 minutes. Shankar claims the duck race is a unique sport organised only at Kodaikanal.There is always the risk of the punts crashing into each other during the chase and participants could topple over into the water.“Though the sport involves a lot of fun, we have to be very careful while rowing the punts because there are five teams chasing the duck at a time,” said Dr Venkatapathy Raja, a participant from Coimbatore.As the sport gained popularity in the last 20 years, demands for participation also rose among club members. Even in the US they conduct the sport in flowing water and that too with plastic ducks,” he said. Each team has two male rowers and a female catcher. It was magic,” she said laughing. “A duck was selected for the race because it is very tough to catch in the water.

As it is tough to row a punt quickly, men rowers would take training before they register for the race, he added. Suggestion boxThe duck race was started by the British in Kodaikanal, says Bhavani Shankar, secretary of the Kodaikanal Boat and Rowing Club.13 minutes. “We need have lot of perseverance and mind and body coordination while steering the punts. Last time the two rowers along with Anjuma had won the competition. “Participating in this sport also helps to develop close bonding among the members of the club who gather from various parts of the state for the festival,” said participants N Nadira and Thasheem.. “Nowhere in the world would you find such an event. Rithika (18), a first-year fashion designing student from SRM College, Chennai.To popularise the sport, the boat club has started conducting competitions on the water during the annual summer festival. Played in the Kodaikanal Lake every year during the summer festival in the last week of May, the Duck Race tests the skill of participants in catching an evasive duck. The duck ducks and the player scores a “duck”