Aroma Chundan crowned Nehru Trophy champion in stunning debut

ALAPPUZHA: Aroma Chundan powered to a historic victory at the 72nd Nehru Trophy Boat Race on Saturday, giving the Aroma Boat Club of Kollam its first title in Kerala’s iconic snake boat competition.

Competing against some of the biggest names in Kerala’s traditional boat-racing circuit, Aroma Chundan produced a commanding performance on the waters of Punnamada Lake to take home the coveted trophy.

The victory is particularly significant for Aroma Boat Club, a newcomer to the competition, with the Kollam-based team making an immediate impact on one of Kerala’s most celebrated sporting stages.

Thousands of spectators lined the banks of Punnamada Lake as the rhythmic chants of rowers and the surge of the massive chundan vallams, or snake boats, transformed Alappuzha into a spectacle of speed, tradition and fierce rivalry.

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race, one of Kerala’s most prominent cultural and sporting events, attracts leading boat clubs and rowers from across the state each year.

For Aroma Chundan, Saturday’s triumph marks a remarkable arrival on the big stage, with a new name now etched into the history of the Nehru Trophy.