Mohit rules waves and races
Mohit Saini of Army Yachting Node rode the waves and swept the races on Tuesday, the third day of the Hyderabad Sailing Week at Hussain Sagar Lake.
Mohit won all three races held on the day — seventh, eighth and ninth — to stamp his authority over the Laser Standard category.
Gusting winds and thundering clouds marked the beginning of the day.
Altogether It was very tough day for all sailors. Wind was ranging from 15-17 knots and was gusting upto 20 knots. Despite gusty wind, sailors defeated all the adversities that came in their way.
In the Laser 4.7 Class, Karthik C covered up the lead as he got one gun position in the seventh race, Ritika Dangi got gun in Race Eight and Sabavath Vijay Kumar got gun in the ninth race.
In Laser Radial (men) category there was a exciting fight between Sikhansu Singh and T Ajay before the former got a gun position the seventh race. Ajay got two guns positions, in the eighth
and ninth races.
In Laser Radial (women) category it was between Vaishnavi Veeravamsham and Saamya Punjkaran. Saamya got a gun in the seventh race while Vaishnavi
got two guns, in races 8 & 9.
The weather was light and fluky with plenty of shifts and Vaishnavi took each shift with panache
Vaishnavi of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad has now
won seven out of nine races and looks impossible to catch with all convincing wins and huge leads from start to finish.
If she wins one more race on Wednesday she does not need to sail the last two races as she would clinch the trophy by a huge margin.
“This will be a first for us. A medal in the Laser Radial girls was not part of even our dreams,” said her coach Suheim Sheikh.
It’s a huge feat for the 15year-old Vaishnavi, who steps back into the sub juniors at Mysore to ensure a berth at the Asians in Thailand and then into the Senior Nationals at Mumbai in October back into the fray for a berth at the Asian Games to be held next year.
THE RESULTS
Laser standard: 7th race (Mohit Saini — AYN), 8th race (Mohit Saini — AYN), 9th race (Mohit Saini — AYN).
Laser Radial (men): 7th race (Sikhansu Singh — TSC), 8th race (T. Ajay — EMESA) 9th race (T. Ajay — EMESA).
Laser Radial (women): 7th race (Saamya Punjkaran — EMESA), 8th race (Vaishnavi Veeravamsham — YCH), 9th race (Vaishnavi Veeravamsham — YCH).
Laser 4.7: 7th race (Karthik C — NBSC), 8th race (Ritika Dangi — NSS), 9th race (Sabavath Vijay Kumar — TSC).