The Hindu : Sport / Sailing : Youngsters to the fore in windy conditions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 08, 2007
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Sport

Sport - Sailing

Youngsters to the fore in windy conditions

Abhijit Sen Gupta

Ajay, Rohini in line for title
Rajesh suffered a hard blow to his pelvis

Hyderabad: Youngsters put up a spirited display in extremely adverse conditions on the second day of the Laser sailing National championships at the Hussainsagar lake on Tuesday. Even the experienced sailors termed wind conditions as the strongest in recent times. Sudden shifts and violent gusts of up to 30 knots made it tough going for everyone.

But what was encouraging was that there were no dropouts and even the novices and the youngsters in the 4.7 class battled bravely against the winds and against one another.

Navin shines

In the 4.7 class Navin Shirodkar of NDA won both races convincingly. He showed the ability to read the winds correctly and take advantage of them. Good performances also came from Mrinalini, Abhimanyu and Swetha, all representing the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association and Alekhya Sudam of Secunderabad Sailing Club.

Two promising young sailors from the Royal Madras Yacht Club namely Ajay Rau competing in the Standard category and Rohini Rau in the Radial category, put up good performances despite the unusual winds and stayed in line for the youth title and the women’s title respectively.

Mishap

Meanwhile, in the Standard category hot favourite Rajesh Choudary had a major mishap in the fourth race when his boat was involved in a high speed collision with the boat of M. Patra of EMESA.

The impact resulted in Rajesh suffering a hard blow to his pelvis and falling out of his boat with his leg entangled in the ropes.

He was dragged along for several yards before being rescued. Patra also suffered a severe injury to his shoulder. Rajesh later told the media that he wanted to continue in the competition provided he is fit enough to do so. He will make a final decision on Wednesday.

The results: Laser Standard: Third race: 1. Rajesh Choudary (AYN) 49m 35s; 2. N.S. Johal (AYN) 49:51; 3. V. Harihara (AYN) 52:46. Fourth race: 1. Ram Kumar Singh (AYN) 49:05; 2. N.S. Johal 50:09; 3. Jasvir Singh (AYN ) 50:49. Laser Radial category: Third race: 1. Dharmendra Singh (AYN) 54:48; 2. B.K. Rout (AYN) 55:39; 3. Gajender Singh (AYN) 55:42. Fourth race: 1. B.K. Rout 49:45; 2. Gajender Singh 50:04; 3. Dharmendra Singh 52:0 2. Laser 4.7 class: Third race: 1. Navin Shirodkar (NDA) 43:18; 2. Mrinalini (TNSA) 48:44; 3. Alekhya Sudam (SSC) 50:49. Fourth race: 1. Navin Shirodkar 43:49; 2. S. Swetha (TNSA) 45:42; 3. N. Abhimanyu (TNSA) 46:11.