HYDERABAD: As many as 62 sailors from across the country will be seen in action in the five-day 12th Monsoon Regatta, beginning at the Hussainsagar on Sunday.
The Monsoon Regatta has always been the largest congregation of sailors of below 15 years. For 12 years in succession the Monsoon Regatta, a national ranking event being held the aegis of the Yachting Association of India (YAI), has been the nursery for young sailors as several of them went on to represent the country at various stages.
Three of the four Indian sailors, who had competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games - Ganapathy Kelapanda, Nethra Kumanan and Vishnu Sarvanan - had participated in the Monsoon Regatta here at various stages of their careers.
“We are proud to host the 12th Monsoon Regatta at Hussainsagar and look forward to the tight competition and some great action on the water as these results will decide who represents India at the Asian Championships at Thailand”, said Lt. Gen KS Rao of the Telangana Sailing Association (TSA).
India’s No.1 Eklavya Batham of Bhopal claimed the top spot during the practice race conducted on Saturday. Eklavya proved his superiority as he bounced back after a poor start to defeat city girl Ravali Parandi, who finished a close second.
The girls category is likely to witness a stiff competition between the Telangana duo, India No. 1 Jhansi Priya Laveti and No. 2 Vaishnavi Veeravamsham. No. 3 Ravali Parandi, also from Hyderabad, is the dark horse.
“Having three top seeds from Telangana is a matter of pride for Telangana and we hope to get a few great results this time in home waters “ said Suheim Sheikh, coach and president at the Yacht Club Foundation.
