CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Punjab’s traditional ‘gatka’ martial art form may not have anything to do with coconuts but a determined group of Sikh youth from the state’s border district of Tarn Taran have claimed an entry into the Guinness World Records by breaking coconuts, a representative said Thursday.
The feat was achieved by Bir Khalsa Gatka Group at a contest organised April 18 in Rome.
The seven-member group was able to break 59 hard coconuts placed on the forehead of team members and broken by others with a baseball bat within one minute.
The earlier world record in this category was 41 coconuts broken in one minute, the said ‘gatka’ group leader Kanwaljit Singh.
“The group is very proud of the achievement. While five members placed the coconuts on their foreheads, two members broke them with baseball bats,” he said.
The other members of the group included Gurpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Naseeb Singh, Harpreet Singh, Ranjot Singh and Balwant Singh.
The group has about 200 members, mostly from Punjab’s rural areas. Earlier, the group made headlines with their performance on a TV channel.
“Our feat has been able to change the perception about Sikhs abroad. We will be participating in such events in other countries in future,” said Kanwaljit Singh.
