Rescue on the river

In early June this year shooting champion Kynan Chenai, 21, was on a fishing holiday in Panchmeshwar with his father Darius, 50, when they spotted five picnickers in distress, caught up in the strong currents of a river on the Indo-Nepal border. "They did not know how to swim,” Chenai informed the Deccan Chronicle which reported the incident in its edition of June 13, 2012. "While two managed to rescue themselves, three started floating away... By the time we reached the first guy, he was unconscious. But my dad and I managed to pull him out.” At first they thought he was dead, but he responded well to resuscitation. Unfortunately, the other two died, Chenai said.

Shooters Kynan and Darius Chenai turn saviors

Referring to the rescue, Chenai revealed, "I was trained as a lifeguard for three years. Moreover, I had my dad with me and we worked as a team. Without my dad as backup, I am not sure I would have jumped into the water... Rivers are the hardest to tame while the seas can, at best, be described as difficult. In a river, you need to use the current to your advantage. I swam across the river using the current. I spotted the victim under water. I positioned myself in the current and then dove in. Using the same force I surfaced, dragging the victim with me.”

After dealing with the police, the survivors, who were from Delhi, drove away, the Deccan Chronicle reports. But the Chenais, who hail from Secunderabad, remained by the river for another two days. "It was a great trip for us. But I don’t think any of the survivors will ever return,” the young shooter told the newspaper.

The news clipping was sent to Parsiana by J. D. Batliwala, honorary secretary of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad and Hyderabad who mentioned in his covering letter that the Chenais, both father and son, are "shooters of international repute having won many trophies in shooting events.”