The Hindu : Sport / Sailing : Upamanyu squanders it

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 06, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Sailing

Upamanyu squanders it

Raakesh Natraj

Chennai: Upamanyu Dutta blew a wonderful opportunity to cling to the coat-tails of Rufus Patrick when he was disqualified after a false start in the last race of the day at the India International Regatta here on Thursday.

Upamanyu had taken the gun in the first two races of the day and looked primed to whittle the gap at the head of the table in the Optimist category when he was forced to retire from the sailing area in the last race.

Though the squalls stayed away for the most part, swells as high as three meters obscured the bobbing sails of the fleet from view with every ebb and flow. Upamanyu charted out a cautious course, staying in the middle of the fleet and Rufus who was trailing by a fair distance managed to make up a few spots when the wind picked up towards the end of the race.

The second race was a much tighter affair, but Upamanyu managed to hold his lead from the start to stave off Rufus’s charge. Then, in the third race, the wind dropped even further, handing the lighter sailors a distinct advantage, with Zephra and Nivedhitha finishing in the top three.

In a result that was purely of academic interest, the Indian pair of Xerxes Bamboat and Krish Makhija managed to beat the hitherto invincible Danes in race three of the 29er division.

The results: 29er, Overall: 1. Kristian Kirketerp and Mathias Sletten (7 Pts), 2. Aman Vyas and Sachin Singha (16), 3. Xerxes Bamboat and Krish Makhija (17).

Optimist (Race 7): 1. Upamanyu Dutta, 2. Bernie Choon, 3. Koh Y Kun. Race 8: 1. Upamanyu Dutta, 2. Rufus Patrick, 3. Praveen Prabhakar. Race 9: 1. Zephra Currimbhoy, 2. Praveen Prabhakar, 3. Niveditha Ravivarman.

Overall standings: 1. Rufus Patrick (13 Pts), 2. K.C. Ganapathy (29), 3. Upamanyu Dutta (32).

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport