Three Indians living in the UAE helped set a Guinness World Record after joining 65 skydivers who unfurled national flags during a jump from 13,000 feet over Benghazi, Libya.
Jamsheer Thanalot, Abhishek Rawat and Isha Raj were among participants representing about 38 nationalities in the record attempt on August 7. Around 35 national flags were displayed during the jump, creating a colourful scene above the Libyan city.
The attempt involved more than simply opening a parachute and displaying a flag. Skydivers had to control large flags while ensuring their lines did not become tangled with their parachutes. They also had to maintain safe distances from other participants and land within a designated area monitored by cameras.
Guinness World Records reviewed evidence from the jump before officially confirming the achievement several days later, shortly before India’s Independence Day on August 15.
For the three UAE-based Indians, the timing added to the significance of the achievement.
“It is a very proud feeling for us. There were people from so many countries and we were there representing India,” Jamsheer said.
The Dubai-based businessman travelled to Libya specifically for the event and spent about five days there. Participants were required to complete three training and qualification jumps before taking part in the final attempt.
Jamsheer said he struggled to sleep the night before the record attempt and managed only about three hours of rest. His smartwatch recorded a sleep score of just 12 per cent.
He had another reason to feel nervous. Some of the participating skydivers had completed thousands of jumps, while Jamsheer had more than 320 jumps under his belt.
Once the final jump began, the participants had little time for hesitation. After safely deploying their parachutes, they opened their national flags while monitoring the positions of other skydivers around them.
Jamsheer said even a minor error could have created a dangerous situation, particularly because the flags and their lines had to remain clear of the parachutes.
His journey into skydiving came after arriving in the UAE in 2011 from Kannur, India. He initially worked as a salesman earning Dh1,200 a month before moving into other sales and service jobs and eventually launching his own e-commerce company, Jazp.com.
He began skydiving about four years ago and has since completed more than 320 jumps in several countries. His team also won a gold medal at a competition in Kuwait last year.
Rawat, originally from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Raj, from Patna in Bihar, both live in Abu Dhabi and are experienced skydivers.
The achievement gave the three Indians an opportunity to represent their country on an international stage, with the tricolour flying thousands of feet above Benghazi just days before India’s Independence Day.
