The Sailing scene in Hyderabad has never been better with a young Tanishq Desai of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad winning a Bronze at the Asian Federation Youth Games at Ras Al Khaimah Having participated in Singapore, Honkong and Chennai all Tanishq had to left to do was to conclude at the finals in Ras Al Khaimah with a good position, which he did in style.
A tense set of races with fluky wind conditions left him a bit disillusioned till the last day and he then pulled an ace with a second position in the concluding day to inch ahead of rival Hamza Ali of the UAE to clinch Bronze , behind Nicholas Bezy and Malik Hood of Honkong.
“Felt proud and on top of the world to stand on stage with the tri-color and winning a medal for India”, said a beaming Tanishq to gathered reporters from across the world.
Durga Prasad finished a creditable 12th in a fleet of 36 boys at his first international. “I could have done much better but the light and fluky local conditions confused me while I made up with a race win in the last race and that made me feel a lot better”, said Durga Prasad who hopes to be attending the world championships later this year at Pattaya Thailand.
Durga Prasad is also considering a career in the Navy and is in Mumbai for the selections under the Sailing quota for outstanding sportspersons.
Juhi Desai, Tanishq’s sister was headed for Gold but the organisers for technical reasons did not declare the results of the girl’s championship denying her a probably Gold despite having won the series on points alone.
Juhi and Durga are in the National Squad for 2017 and are now looking forward to the series in Hyderabad starting end June till the Telangana Open and Monsoon Regatta to consolidate their wins.
“Little did I realise that both my kids would dive so deep into Sailing and perform at the international level. Both had tried many sports but once they learned sailing there was no looking back. The facilities and world vision of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad leaves no room for doubt that they are in good hands” , said Jeena Desai their dedicated mother who travels all across the world to support the careers of the siblings.
Mahavaadi Sudeer– DD Commentator
