The Telangana State Junior Regatta to commence from tomorrow 9th Oct.
The Telangana Sailing Association – TSA – is proud to conduct what may be the first State Level Championship in any sport across the country post lockdown against all odds and we are happy to take the lead in opening up the sports arenas in India, said Lt. Gen KS Rao, the President of the TSA
56 sailors registered from across 16 districts.
Sailors commenced practice sessions under strict Covid-19 protocols with preliminaries started on the 7th.
The State Championships have been traditionally an open championship but due to COVID restrictions, this year is restricted to just the districts of Telangana. Sailors from 11 districts Wanaparthy, Nalgonda, Nagakurool, Vikarabad, Gadwal, Siddipet, Warangal, Sangareddy, Medak and of course Hyderabad and Rangareddy will participate.
With 56 entries across three categories— Juniors, Sun-Juniors and Novices, it is, against all odds, one of the largest ever.
Telangana despite being a landlocked state has produced some of the top sailors in the country thanks to the presence of the Hussain Sagar and the facilities at the Yacht Club of Hyderabad that is focussed on teaching underprivileged youth from across the State.
The Sub Junior Championships will be sailed in the Optimist Class with India’s top seed girls leading the fray but as per the performance of the preliminaries and practice the boys from MJPT School esp Nitin Ketavat and Mallesh Gaddam are the dark horses to watch out for having trounced the seeded girls in many a preliminary race.
Jhansi Priya Laveti is India No.1 and Vaishnavi Veeravamsham India No.2 are the top seeds but the former is yet to show top form while Vaishnavi is displaying class with many wins during practice.
The Junior Championships will be sailed in the Laser Class with a record 18 sailors participating with 17 debutants given that the young sailors have grown up into the Lasers from a weight and age point of view. The fleet will be divided into two groups and then based on performance into a Gold and Silver Fleet to decide the final State ranking. Lakshmi Chandram of Hyderabad is the top seed alongside Jaikiran Bolli of Wanaparthy.
The Telangana Sailing Association – TSA – is proud to conduct what may be the first State Level Championship in any sport across the country post lockdown against all odds and we are happy to take the lead in opening up the sports arenas in India. I wish the sailors all the very best”, said Lt. Gen KS Rao, the President of the TSA.
An Online International Jury comprising of Judges from Australia, Singapore and India will preside over the Championships and International Judge Brigadier GS Julka will chair the proceedings.