Monsoon Regatta: Top sailors stay afloat on a cloudy, windy day

In the Under-16 Boys, we saw Krishna VR of RMYC winning a thrilling 5th race; pips local lad Rizwan Mohammad to second position

Hyderabad: On a cloudy and windy day for the 16th YAI Monsoon Regatta at Hussain Sagar, Hyderabad saw some consistent performances with Shreya Krishna and Lahiri Komaravelly opening up on the leaderboard, gathering as few points as possible. Both finished their standard 1st and 2nd positions but had a bad 5th race, finishing 3rd and 7th respectively. However, their consistency kept them on top.

In the Under-16 Boys, we saw Krishna VR of RMYC winning a thrilling 5th race, keeping both the girls well behind him and showing maturity well beyond his years to top the boys’ leaderboard. He pipped local lad Rizwan Mohammad to second position, while another local lad, Ravi Nayak Palthya, held onto the bronze but just barely.

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The Under-16 fleet is maturing, and the lower end of the fleet is turning up the pressure, coming up front across the lake. However, experience and the handling of some quick wind shifts held sway, and the top sailors stayed put despite intensive catch-up efforts from the back.

In the 420 Mixed fleet, consistent wins by both local Hyderabad pairs, Thanuja and Deekshita, saw them finishing 1st and 2nd in both races. Deekshita and Ganesh won the 4th race, consolidating their overall second position and leading the sailors from NSS Bhopal to reset their boat settings in preparation for tomorrow’s crucial racing.

In the Under-18 Laser Girls, Alia Sabreen of RMYC Tamil Nadu surged into the lead with two wins and a net of just 5 points, leaving the Bhopal sailors, Mahi and Tulsi, in 2nd and 3rd positions.

In the Under-18 Laser Boys, Sharanya Jhadav of NYSC Goa consolidated his lead with another win and reigned at the top, despite a double penalty that made him retire in one of the two races sailed.

In the Under-19 29er Skiffs, the tables turned with the top seeds, Tangai and Divaker, who had a bad first day and were trailing 4th overall. However, they moved up to 2nd place with two high-margin wins and are now poised to win the championship comfortably.

A special ceremony for the junior-most sailors participating in the light fleet of half-rigged Optimists was presided over by Smt. K. Shilpavalli, IPS, who delighted the sailors with a powerful and inspiring speech. The ceremony was attended by ex-champion sailor Mahbubee Tungara, now with the Telangana Police, and Telangana’s only representative at the Asian Games Sailing 2023 in China, Preethi Kongara.

The Beginners Light Fleet regatta, mostly for under-10s, was won by Arepally Gracey of Telangana Social Welfare School, Mahendra Hills, and Konda Samanyu from Gowtham Model School in the Girls’ and Boys’ categories, respectively. Gracey won the overall prize across gender as well, topping the regatta with 10 wins out of 15.

Principal Race Officer Chaturvedi, who has officiated at the last 10 Monsoon Regattas, said that the weather and winds were perfect for a Junior National Championship. “This kind of weather and wind is typical of the Monsoon Regatta, and it helps bring out the finest talent in sailors,” he added.

After 3 races, sailors are allowed one discard, and after 11 races, another discard is allowed. The regatta is a series of 12 races, closing on June 14.

Seven more races are to be held over the next 4 days, and anything can happen. But it does look like the leading sailors will stay at the top, while the lower half still has a chance to turn the tables with some grit and luck.

Results tally at the end of Day 1

Light Fleet

Sub Juniors Girls

Shreya Krishna (TN) – 4

Lahiri Komaravelly (TS) – 8

Chandralekha Tarttari (TS) – 28

Sub Junior Boys

Krishna VR (TN) – 14

Rizwan Mohammad (TS) – 14

Ravi Nayak Palthya (TS) – 21

 

Juniors Under-19 Mixed Doubles

Thanuja and Shravan (TN) – 4

Deekshita and Ganesh (TN) – 7

Samriddhi and Parth (MP) – 11

Juniors Under-19 Boys Skiffs

Hriday Joshi and Kartik Korolla (NYSC Goa) – 7

Krishna and Tangai (TSC Mysore) – 8

Vikram and Shivam (NYSC Goa) – 9

 

Under-18 Laser Boys

Sharanya Jhadav (NYSC Goa) – 4

Ramakant (NYSC Goa) – 9

Vasu Chandravamshi (NSS Bhopal MP) – 16

Under-18 Laser Girls

Alia Sabreen (TNSA TN) – 5

Mahi Verma (NSS MP) – 8

Tulsi Patle (NSS MP) – 11