It will be a big leap for Kirti when the Hyderabad Sailing Week gets under way next week.
The 12-year-old was the youngest, not just among the seven girls, but of the 71 who participated in the National camp conducted jointly by the Laser Class Association of India (LCAI), the EME Sailing Association (EMESA), the Secunderabad Sailing Club and the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) at the Hussain Sagar recently.
The youngster will be among many to plunge headlong into National level competition, where some of the nation’s best sailors will be in the fray.
The opening day of the camp had fairly strong winds but there was a lull later on.
Chief coach and Arjuna Awardee Rajesh Choudhary saw that as a good sign for beginners who wouldn’t be intimidated by the challenging conditions.
Assisting him were former National champions and internationals B.K. Rout (Laser Radial), Gajender Singh (Laser Standard), Dharmendra Singh (Laser 4.7) besides Nijeesh Bhaskaran, Sachin Singha and Ashish Patel in the double handers.
Meticulously organised, the campers had access to the best of facilities and expertise.
In a sport closest to the environment and enormously dependent on the elements, the trainees were taught to study weather conditions, clouds and wind shifts as essentials to cooperate if not to conquer nature’s ways.
Showing patience
The coaches showed patience in their effort to eliminate the errors of the trainees, discussing in detail the skills and equipment required to master the sport.
Captain Jitendra Dhingra said: “Stringent selection trials were conducted at the end of the camp to identify the best available talent to represent the Telangana State and the EMESA during the Hyderabad Sailing Week.”
