SEPANG, Aug 4 (Bernama) — National climber T. Ravichandran, a person with disabilities (PwD), who on July 22 successfully conquered the second highest peak in the world, K2, in Pakistan, has dedicated his feat to Malaysia in conjunction with the country’s 65th National Day on Aug 31.
Ravi, also known as “Ravi Everest”, returned to the country today after reaching the summit of the 8.611-metre peak together with three other mountain climbers accompanied by five sherpas.
“It is my honour to have flown the Jalur Gemilang on the peak of K2 especially in conjunction with the National Day celebration on Aug 31,” he told reporters on arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today. His wife Leela Ramamurthy was at the airport to welcome him home.
Ravichandran, 57, said becoming the first Malaysian climber to successfully conquer K9 was one of the achievements in his life’s journey as he aims to conquer 14 of the highest mountains in the world within three years.
He said K2 was his second expedition this year after successfully climbing Mount Everest on May 12.
“Climbing K2 was an experience as it is three times more difficult than scaling other mountains in Nepal as K2 is referred to as the “savage mountain”.
“This was the biggest challenge I have faced as on the last day’s journey, I had to reach the peak and back within 24 hours…I crawled and even cried. But with the determination to fly the Jalur Gemilang, I succeeded,” he said.
Ravichandran said his success should send a message that despite the shortcomings faced by the PwD group, it is not impossible to create success like other people because everyone can make history and create world records if they are strong, work hard and persevere.
“We (PwDs) can excel like ordinary people. We can achieve wonders. When I was at the peak of K2, world climbers could see that Malaysia has something special…we do not look down on the underprivileged,” he added.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency