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Tropical Titans retained the prestigious Champions Boat League (CBL-2) by topping the overall points tally even as they lost to arch-rivals Mighty Oars in the concluding race of the 12-leg IPL-model water event at Kollam, with Raging Rowers emerging third.
Mighty Oars won the President’s Trophy, which marked the end of CBL-2 organized by Kerala Tourism. At the closely-fought races, Tropical Titans (traditionally Pallathuruthy Boat Club, on the snake boat named Mahadevikad Kattil Thekkethil) could not repeat their magic of overtaking their rivals in the last lap of the track. Throughout the final here, Mighty Oars (NCDC, rowing the Nadubhagam) retained a clear edge over Tropical Titans, clocking first with 4:13.89 minutes.
The win by Mighty Oars meant that Tropical Titans presented an anticlimax in the finals of CBL-2 by timing 4:15.36, while Raging Rowers (Kerala Police Boat Club, Champakulam) became the second runners-up at 4:15.96.
Living up to the significance of the final races, all nine CBL teams gave a spirited performance. Particularly impressive was Backwater Warriors (Town Boat Club, St Pious Tenth), who finished fourth - three notches above their rank in the previous round at Kallada, 25 km north of Kollam city.
Pride Chasers (Vembanad Boat Club, Payippad) came fifth, followed by Ripple Breakers (Punnamada Boat Club, Veeyapuram). Finishing seventh was Backwater Knights (Village Boat Club, Devas), while Thunder Oars (KBC-SFBC, Ayaparambu Pandi) came eighth. At the very end came Coast Dominators (UBC Kainakary).
As CBL-2 wound up, Tropical Titans won the championships by mustering 116 points overall, nine more than Mighty Oars (107). Raging Rowers (92) came third, followed by Ripple Breakers (fourth, 76 points), Pride Chasers (70) and Coast Dominators (sixth with 57 points). At the seventh position with 46 points was Backwater Knights, followed by Backwater Warriors (45). Thunder Oars (40) stood at the bottom.
The Finance Minister Mr K. N. Balagopalan inaugurated the CBL-2 finale along with the President’s Trophy. The film actor Mr Mukesh, MLA, presided over the function that was attended by Mr N. K. Premchandran MP, Mr M. Noushad MLA, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Mr K. S. Srinivas, Kerala Tourism Director Mr P. B. Nooh, Kollam Mayor Ms Prasanna Earnest and District Collector Ms Afsana Parveen, besides members of local civic bodies.
Champions Tropical Titans earned Rs 1.25 crores overall in the CBL-2 season, while runners-up Mighty Oars got Rs 99 lakhs. Raging Rowers earned Rs 68 lakhs. Each participating team got Rs 4 lakhs in every league match at CBL-2, which had prize money totalling Rs 5.96 crores overall.
The inauguration of CBL-2 was held in Alappuzha on September 4 along with the renowned Nehru Trophy Boat Race.
To watch the videos of CBL-2: https://www.keralatourism.org/video-gallery/champions-boat-league
