A lady cadet will receive the "Sword of Honour" from the Army Chief for the first time in the history of the OTA, according to Lt Col Shambhu Sharan Singh.
Divya Ajithkumar of Chennai has undergone the arduous training at the OTA and come out with flying colours. The silver medal for the second best cadet was also bagged by a lady cadet.
The OTA curriculum includes physical training, military tactics, weapon training, radio communication and academics.
Divya, who has a B.Com degree from Stella Maris College, Chennai, also bags the gold medal for academics at OTA.
A trained Bharatnatyam dancer, an accomplished drummer and a Black Belt (2nd Dan) in Tae Kwon Do, she represented Tamil Nadu at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 2008. Here, she had the "rare double honour of being awarded both the All India Best Cadet and All India Best Parade Commander for leading the Rajpath Parade," says an OTA press release.
Saturday's passing out parade will culminate with 157 Gentlemen Cadets and 70 Lady Cadets being formally commissioned as Indian Army officers.
"The parade marks the finale of the baptism through fire. It is a ritual in the life of the Academy, but a lifetime experience for the cadet," said the newly appointed Commandant of the OTA, Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee.
As in the past, a few foreign officer cadets too have undergone training at the OTA along with their Indian counterparts. This time, there are 20 cadets who will be commissioned into the Afghan National Army, while two Lady Cadets from Lesotho will be commissioned into the Lesotho Defence Forces.
Image: Divya astride a horse at the OTA. Picture courtesy Officers Training Academy, Chennai
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