OPTIMIST NATIONAL SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP =962002 DONA PAULA, GOA: Executive Director of the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) V= =20 M Prabhudessai was all praise for the organisers of the Optimist National=20 Sailing Championships underway here as he inaugurated the championship=20 today and flagged off the traditional pre-regatta practice race. He said=20 that sailing had a great future in the state which had already produced=20 young sailors who had represented the country internationally.
SAG Treasurer G Bhakta, who was Guest of Honour, said that Goa was now a=20 favoured destination for sports as well, as the junior basketball nationals= =20 were going on simultaneously, with 800 young basketballers from all over=20 the country. Goa Yachting Association (GYA) President Cesar Menezes said that this was=20 the second National Championship which Goa was hosting, and which had=20 attracted a record number of entries, showing that it was a growing sport.= =20 He commended the young sailors for their courage and determination in the=20 face of tricky and tough conditions. Others who were present and spoke were= =20 GYA Secretary Hakim Sabir, GYA Vice President Umaji Chowgule, Goa Olympic=20 Association chief Anil Madgavkar, GYA Vice President Dr Damodar Bhounsulo=20 and Race Committee head Cyrus Hirjee. The children, who were listening and applauding, were earlier splashing=20 about in the sea, shouting, playing and having fun, like any others of=20 their age. But once in their sailboats and out at sea, they are suddenly=20 transformed into the saltiest of sailors, battling 18-knot (30 kmph) winds= =20 and one-metre-high waves to get ahead of each other and to the finish line.= =20 No quarter is given and none asked for. Until the race is over and they=20 turn back into normal kids, they are complete sportsmen and women. 14-year-old Salil Sabir of Sharada Mandir School, Panaji, Goa, is one of=20 the frontrunners for the title showed it by coming first in today=92s short= =20 practice race. Salil is a veteran of seven national-level regattas and has= =20 already represented the country internationally thrice; at Dubai, in Korea= =20 and at Malta. His best showing abroad has been a third place in one race=20 and a 13th overall position at the EuroMed Championships at Malta in=20 December 2001, in the face of stiff European competition. Rohith Ashok of Chennai =96 who came second in the practice race -- is=20 another favourite. He is the current under-12 national champ and has also=20 represented India at Malta. Shilpa Oberoi of the Sea Cadet Corps, Mumbai,=20 is favourite among the girls and also a hot contender of the overall title.= =20 She stood fourth in the practice race. Others in contention are Chaitanya=20 Chowgule of Goa (third), Ritesh Kank and Prasad Shelar of the Sea Cadet=20 Corps, Mumbai, Abhimanyu Nityanand of Chennai, Advait Deodhar, Xerxes=20 Bamboat and Viraf Hirjee, all of Mumbai. Races start tomorrow at 1.30 pm, with two races continuously. Ten races=20 will be sailed and the overall winner will be the one with the least=20 aggregate penalty points, after allowing for discard of the two worst result= s. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
