One immediately connects Chennai with cricket — Chepauk,spinners and picturesque grounds have all been responsible for putting the city in the sporting contours of the country. However, chennai has churned OUT quality sportspersons in other fields as well, including sailing. The alternative sport may be expensive, but it’s a viable avenue for people who have the means. Express takes a look at four such Chennaiites who have excelled therein
KC Ganapathy
Adjusting to the wind and adapting to the vagaries of nature at mid sea is something not many enjoy. Luckily, KC Ganapathy not only enjoys it but is highly skilled at it. Barely out of his teens, Varun Thakkar and he set a record of sorts. They became the first from the country to win a youth medal at the Asian level (Langkawi, Malaysia). The pair also made the country proud by finishing third among 67 crews in the final of the Euro Cup in 2013.
Varsha Gautham
The other half of the bronze-winning effort in Incheon, Varsha was just 16 (not a typo). And, in the process, she entered the record books — the youngest ever Indian medallist at the Asian Games. She has already begun preparing for the Rio Olympics and with age on her side, she might as well reach for the stars.
Chitresh Tatha
He isn’t any ordinary 13-year-old, for he has already represented India at the Asian Games. A Class VIII student of Bhavans’ Rajaji Vidyashram in Kilpauk, Chitresh is another burgeoning talent willing to test himself against people double his size and triple his age. And given he already knows what it means to be on the top step of a podium (won gold in the India International Regatta in the U-12 category), this young turk represents a new India — a modern India not afraid to go out of their comfort zone to find their calling.
Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan
The MOP Vaishnav 3rd Year sociology student has been more than making a name for herself on the waves for the last several years. After first entering the spotlight early last year, the teenager pocketed a rare bronze in the Asian Games at Incheon — in the company of her friend Varsha in the women’s 29er two-person dinghy sailing event.