Silver and Bronze for India in Worldskills competition

As the country plunged in festivity here, a team of individuals found a different brilliance at the shores in Abu Dhabi with the winning of a Silver and a Bronze medal at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, Ministry of Skill Development said in a statement on Friday.

Mohit Dudeja won a Silver for Patisserie and Confectionery, and Kiran, a Bronze, for Prototype Modelling in the competition that concluded in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Apart from these two, a total of nine "Medallions for Excellence" were also won by the team India, which comprised 28 candidates participating in 26 trades.

"This is India's best performance since it started participating in these competitions in 2007. The Indian team was competing with candidates from 59 other WorldSkills member countries," said a statement from Worldskills India -- an initiative founded in 2011 by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

"It has been an incredible and by far, the best performance by the Indian team since we began participating in WorldSkills International competition! This Diwali has really been special. It is an important day in the skills calendar for India and a big moment of pride for our country," Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said.

Widely and informally regarded as the Skills Olympics, WorldSkills Competitions are held in different countries every two years and are organised by an Amsterdam-based not-for-profit organization WorldSkills International.

-- IANS

vn/nir/vm