SANGAM

Zidane leap of faith likely

SANGAM PRASAIN
SYANGBOCHE (KHUMBU), MAY 17 -
If things go as planned, former French footballer Zinadine Zidane will be coming to Nepal in October for skydiving, a close friend of Zidane said on Monday.

Zidan’e friend Mario Gervasi, who skydived from Syangboche — the world’s highest point — on Monday, has requested the French mid-field maestro to skydive from Syangboche at an altitude of 3860 metres above sea level.

“I had requested him earlier to skydive in Marseilles (in France), but Zidane said he would rather do it from Everest. So, most probably he will come,” said Gervasi, Vice president of Vertical Pole, an adventure sports club in France.

Zidane, who captained the triumphant French team in the World Cup 1998, is keen to see the Everest journey materialise. Earlier, he had skydived in Paris and wants to achieve new heights, Gervasi added.

Gervasi is a professional skydiver and has already made more than 10,000 successful dives around the world. He works in the same social organisation that Zidane is associated with. Gervasi and Zidane work for ‘ALA’, an organisation working for the development of handicapped and disabled children.

“Confirmation is yet to come,” said Everest Skydive Nepal president Suman Pandey. According to him, Gervasi is closely associated with most of the French celebrities and chances are that Zidane will make it in October.

Everest Skydive Nepal is conducting a commercial skydive then. So far 15-20 groups have confirmed their arrival. Pandey said that as Nepal has the world’s highest skydiving point, a lot of enthusiastic foreigners are expected to join the carnival. One skydive costs around US$25,000 to US$30,000. For domestic aspirants, the organisation has planned to conduct commercial skydiving in Pokhara in October. The fee for Nepali skydivers will be around Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 25,000 per head, Pandey added.

On Monday, world record breaking woman skydiver New Zealander Wendy Smith, jumped off from 27,000 feet. Smith said Nepal is one of the most promising destinations for skydiving due to the presence of Mt. Everest and hundreds of mountain peaks.