Two girls from Telangana have been shortlisted to participate in the World Sailing Championships to be held at Lake Riva Del Garda in Italy from July 1 to 12.
Two girls from Telangana have been shortlisted to participate in the Sub-Juniors category in the World Sailing Championships to be held at Lake Riva Del Garda in Italy from July 1 to 12.
Jhansi Priya and sibling Dharani Laveti are guaranteed a spot in the squad. But a lot still depends on their performances in the nationals at Mumbai to be held in May.
Their ability to participate also depends on whether they manage to get the funding to finally have their entries cleared.
The siblings finished a creditable 44th and 59th out of 181 sailors at the Atlantic Week at Vigo, Spain, in October in the open category, and are gunning for a medal at the nationals.
Adding to the good news, four girls from Telangana are in the National A squad, and are all set to go for the Asian & Oceania Championships at Trincomalee in Sri Lanka from June 6 to 12, where the monsoon winds could be a smashing 18 knots.
As 2020 is an Olympics year, funding from the sports ministry is focused on the games to be held in July. And these Sub-Junior girls have to therefore spend for themselves. The Yacht Club has, however, confirmed that no stones would be left unturned to ensure that all the girls participated and made full use of this opportunity to gain international exposure.
The Telangana girls represented India at the 2019 Oman Asians, and while Preethi and Lakshmi moved to the Juniors category from the Sub-Juniors category, Jhansi Priya was ranked 17 amongst girls in Asia and could well be in the reckoning for a medal at Trincomalee. The last time India got a Sub-Junior Asian medal was when Harishta Tomar of Madhya Pradesh won a bronze in 2014 at the Qatar Asians.
Jhansi Priya, whose mother works at Yashoda Hospital, is excited to represent India once again. She is currently ranked No 2 in India and 17th at the Asians, and with improved fitness daily monitored by Suchitra Academy, the same centre at which P V Sindhu trains, she is gearing up to compete with the best in the world. Her sister Dharani Laveti is ranked 3rd, but given that she has moved to the Laser Olympic Class, is planning to wait for the Marve Nationals to decide if she plans to go international in the Sub-Juniors or upgrade to the Juniors at the next Laser Nationals.
Compatriots Vaishnavi Veeravamsham and Parandi Ravali also are from Telangana, and are currently ranked 4th and 5th in India. They have no Asian record as yet, and will be making their debuts at Trincomalee in June. Both are on the waitlist for the worlds, and are practicing hard for the nationals at Mumbai. Ravali finished a spectacular 10th at the Atlantic Week at Portugal last October, her first European Regatta in icy cold weather, beating all her compatriots from India, and could well turn up a dark horse.
The girls are studying at the IIM-Ahmedabad alumni funded school Udbhav at Rasoolpura that supports them in their sailing endeavors. The school had three national champions before, including Durga Prasad, who represented India at the Thailand Worlds in 2016 and who is now in the Navy Sailing School.
Sirisha Kerre of Mahboobnagar, studying at the Social Welfare School at Nadcherla, is ranked 9th, and is on the waitlist. Her performance at the nationals in Mumbai will decide her participation - she may also get a chance in case better seeded sailors drop out due to funding issues. She has moved to Hyderabad to intensify her training at the Academy.
If the girls perform well at the Nationals at Marve Beach of Mumbai, the Yacht Club has decided to send three girls instead of two to the World Championships, though still things would depend on the available slots and funding.