The first edition of Arunachal Cup-2018, a three-day R6 national-level rafting championship, was flagged off by Liromoba legislator Nyamar Karbak from the Yomgo river in West Siang district’s Kamba circle on Thursday.

Kamba is around 383km from here.

The event aims to promote adventure tourism and boost inflow of domestic and international tourists in the state.

Organised by the Arunachal Water Sports Association (AWSA) in collaboration with the state government’s department of sports and youth affairs, the competition will end on Saturday.

Teams of six paddlers will raft in five events — time trails sprint, head-to-head spirit, Salom round I & II, Marathon down river race and accumulate points to decide which team will represent the country in the World Rafting Championship scheduled to be held in Austria next year.

Karbak said: “Tourism in Arunachal Pradesh is in a growing stage and there is an intention to develop it as a premium tourism destination. The state government is investing a lot of money to make Arunachal the adventure and exotic tourism hub of India. Besides adventure sports like trekking, angling and boating, our state also offers great opportunities for white water rafting.”

Karbak highlighted the tourism potentials of Kamba and said the circle, besides having the potential of becoming a tourist hotspot, is also blessed with many beautiful rivers which are suitable for white water rafting.

International Rafting Federation judge from Russia (also the judge for the championship), Natalia Zenkova, was all praise for the natural beauty of Kamba in particular and the state in general.

“Russia is a beautiful country but the natural beauty of Arunachal is breathtaking,” she said.