Nine-year-old Kadapala Rithvika Sri from M. Agraharam village in Tadimarri Mandal district of Andhra Pradesh conquered the highest peak of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, becoming the youngest Asian to scale the mountain.
Daughter of Kadapala Sankar, a cricket coach and sports coordinator in the Special Olympics Bharat wing of Rural Development Trust, Class 2 student Rithvika Sri is one of the youngest from Asia to scale the mountain by climbing to the Gilman's Point at 5,681 metres above the mean sea level with her father and guide. According to reports, Sri's father had scaled the mountain peak last year, and this year, he decided to take his daughter along with him.
Sri was a proud girl to be the youngest Indian on the peak as she held the national flag high to express her gratitude towards the nation. IAS officer Gandham Chandrudu congratulated the young girl as he took to Twitter to praise her achievement and wrote, "You have grabbed the opportunities despite many odds. Keep inspiring." Chandrudu even helped her by releasing ₹2,98,835 from the S.C. Corporation for her expedition on February 1.
Congratulations to Ritwika Sree of Ananthapur for becoming the world’s second youngest& Asia’s youngest girl to scale Mt Kilimanjaro. You have grabbed the opportunities despite many odds.Keep inspiring@ysjagan #APGovtSupports#AndhraPradeshCM#PowerofGirlChild pic.twitter.com/Xu8LZw8OVz
— Gandham Chandrudu IAS (@ChandruduIAS) February 28, 2021
Before embarking on her history on Kilimanjaro, Sri participated in Level 1 training at the Rock Climbing School in Telangana and Level 2 training in Ladakh. Moreover, the nine-year-old also took part in the mountaineering expedition with enthusiasm so that she could make it in her first attempt.
In 2018, Samnanyu Pothuraju became the youngest mountaineer in the world to scale the Uhuru peak of Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of seven. Mt Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world at 19,340 feet. Gilman's Point is one of the three summit points of Mt Kilimanjaro. Climbers who manage to reach this point receive the official Kilimanjaro climbing certificate.
Image Credits: The Hindu