Kayaking champion drowns

The body of national kayaking champion Ravi Antil was found floating on the surface of the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Thursday, two days after he mysteriously disappeared while practicing at the rowing channel of the lake.

Antil's body surfaced on Thursday morning at the regulator end of the lake. Post mortem reports said the 19-year-old had died due to drowning.

"It is a sufficient cause for death and at the moment we have no reason to believe that there may be any other angle involved," Senior Superintendent of Police Parag Jain said.

A massive search to trace Antil had been on since Tuesday morning, when he went missing during a practice session at the Lake. The joint operation carried out by divers of the Para Commandos, Central Reserve Police Force, Chandigarh Police and the Lake Club personnel failed to trace him till late last evening.

A sub-inspector with the 28th battalion of the CRPF, Antil had won a gold medal in an All-India Championship and was practicing for the National Games. He, along with teammates, used to go for practice to the lake regularly. On Tuesday, his team mates found his single-seater kayak in the middle of the channel, tilted and filled with water. They said the kayak was empty and there was no trace of him near the regulator end of the Lake. When Antil could not be located, they informed the police.

Antil's team mates added it is difficult to believe that the expert swimmer could have died of drowning.

The body would be taken to Sonipat by his family members for last rites.