Maharashtra: 16-yr-old Kaamya Karthikeyan becomes youngest Indian to scale Mt Everest
May 31, 2024
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 31 : Sixteen-year-old Kaamya Karthikeyan claims to be the youngest Indian and second-youngest girl in the world to scale Mount Everest.
The 16-year-old said she was 7 when she took her first trek in Uttarakhand.
Speaking with ANI about her road to Mount Everest, she said, "... I recently summited Mount Everest... I became the second-youngest girl in the world and the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest from the Nepal side. It's been a dream of mine for a very long time".
"It feels good to finally achieve it and come back safe. I did my first Himalayan trek in Uttarakhand when I was 7 years old. Since then, I got hooked to trekking... In 2017, I trekked to the Everest base camp... Mt. Everest was the sixth out of the 7 summits for me...,"Karthikeyan added.
A class 12 student of Navy Children School, Mumbai, at 16, Karthikeyan successfully summitted Mt Everest on May 20, 2024, with her father, Cdr S Karthikeyan of the Indian Navy.
S Karthikeyan told ANI that "it is a "proud moment for the country."
"It's a proud moment that my daughter has climbed Mt. Everest... She has become the youngest Indian girl to climb the Mt. Everest... Kamya wants to climb the seven summits which are the highest peaks on every continent. She's been doing this for the last 7 years... The last one that is left is Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica... That's what we are aiming to climb next...," he told ANI.
Earlier in the month, Kaamya's mother Lavanya Karthikeyan spoke with ANI and said, "As a mother, there is no doubt that I am feeling extremely proud. At the same time, I am also experiencing immense gratitude and I feel blessed that Kaamya got such an opportunity to hoist the national flag on the world's highest mountain. We are grateful to the almighty and everyone who made this happen".
The official X handle of the Spokesperson of the Indian Navy had also congratulated Kaamya Karthikeyan on her accomplishment. It said, "Indian Navy congratulates Kaamya Karthikeyan, daughter of Cdr S Karthikeyan on becoming the youngest Indian and the second youngest girl in the world to summit Mt Everest from the Nepal side. Kaamya has exhibited immense courage & fortitude in summiting the highest peaks in six of the seven continents. IndianNavy wishes young Kaamya the very best in her aspiration to summit the highest peaks of all seven continents, becoming the youngest girl to do so."
