Student paraglides to exam center after running late

After realising he was late for his exam, a first-year student in India took an unconventional approach, paragliding to the examination centre. A hardworking student, Samarth Mahangade was determined to take his exam. But why did he have to paraglide?

According to local media reports, Mahangade runs a juice shop in Maharashtra. His exam had been canceled earlier and later rescheduled, but he was unaware of the new date.

The student was working on his shop when he came to know that his exam was rescheduled that day. He had only 15-20 minutes to reach the examination centre.  

Instead of risking hours in traffic, he opted for paragliding.

However, his move gained widespread attention when a video went viral on social media showing a boy wearing a college unfiform ready to make a dramatic landing in his examination centre.

Read: Student dies in India after being forced to stand for 3 hours during ragging

The student was able to land at the centre just 10 minutes before the exam began.

His daring move caught the attention of billionaire Harsh Goenka, who praised his passion for education.

Although the incident occurred on December 15, it gained traction when Goenka shared the video, praising Mahangade’s creative problem-solving.

He shared the video with caption, "A Panchgani student paraglided 15 km to make it to his exam on time as the traffic was very high on the roads. 100 marks for creative problem-solving," Goenka wrote.

Goenka added, "Zero for risk management. I don't see myself indulging in any adventure sport in India. Not anytime soon at least," 

Meanwhile, paragliding-related accidents have been rising in India.

Last month, in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu, a tourist from Tamil Nadu was killed and a pilot was severely injured after the paraglider collided with another paraglider.

The incident happened at the Gadsa paragliding site. In January 2023, paragliding at the Gadsa site was banned after authorities found certain violations.