Hyderabad: Two Telangana sailors Alekhya Coondoo and Pilli Akhil have been selected to represent India in the upcoming 420 Class World Sailing Championship, scheduled to be held in Alicante in Spain from July 21 to 29.
Alekhya, a 12 standard student from HPS Ramanthapur and Akhil, a 11 standard student from Khammam, have formed a formidable team over a year and have represented the country in three international tournaments and qualified for this World Championship.
This is the only team from India to compete in the prestigious event and also the first pair in four years to make the cut. The Telangana duo will be plying their trade with 126 sailors from across the world for the top honours.
Alekhya and Akhil have qualified for their maiden international event after winning three national ranking events held in Mysore, Marve Mumbai and Shillong recently. They are being trained by coaches Arjun Pradeepak and Sanjeev Chauhan.
The duo will undergo a training camp for a week in Spain under the guidance of Jose Ruiz Sanchez, a professional sailor and 420 World Champion. Alekhya’s school HPS Ramanthapur, through its alumni, raised Rs 7 lakh to support her.