A CHANCE meeting at a sailing session where her sister was practising, made Aishwarya N Chezhiyan take a liking for the sport.
Sailing means everything to her now. She has slowly climbed up the ladder to be one of the most promising sailors in the State. Initially the love of spending time in the 'waters' propelled Aishwarya to be a sailor. The hobby soon developed into a passion.
She has now set targets and wants to be the best in the business.
“Couple of years ago my sister Ashwini wanted to do Oceanography and thus was involved in sailing. While attending one of her training sessions I got hooked to the sport,” recalled Aishwarya.
“As a kid I was fascinated by water, so I was eager to be part of the watersport. I started sailing for fun. But as I grew up and saw senior sailors winning medals, I got the urge to take up sailing seriously and have no regrets,'' added Aishwarya, who studies at Good Shepherd School.
Aishwarya has come a long way from the time she finished 20th at a race in Pune (2006), to winning the gold in Laser 4.7 event (girls U-16) at the Laser National Sailing Championship at Secunderabad in 2010.
What helped her evolve as a sailor of repute was her selfbelief and dedication. As a member of the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association, she trains regularly every weekend. Her coach at the TNSA is Munna Jamal. According to several members of TNSA, Aishwarya and several kids at the TNSA have benefited because of their ability to learn quickly. She has graduated from Optimist class racing to Laser 4.7 in no time.
Hard work and dedication earned her an opportunity to be part of the Future Champion Development Scheme of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).
Once she decided to take up sailing as a 'professional' sport, the results started to show. Aishwarya bagged a silver in the India International Regatta in November last year at Chennai in the Open category. Her other impressive results in 2010 came to the fore at LCAI Regatta, Goa (gold); bronze in girls category at the YAI Golden Jubilee Regatta in Bhopal; and silver at Vestas 420 Class National Championship in Chennai in Youth Open segment.
“It has been a wonderful season for me. I am slowly learning the nuances of the sport.
I am enjoying my outing and thus the results are showing.
I cherish coming overall second in the India International Regatta,'' said Aishwarya.
Her aim is to bag a medal at the World Youth Sailing Championship this year. She has been preparing hard for it and having rigorous practice sessions at the TNSA facility at the Chennai harbour.
Aishwarya also underwent a training stint twice under Merek Nostitz Jackowski, National sailing coach of Hong Kong at Langkawi, Malaysia last year. The 15-year-old has represented India in the 4.7 Youth World Championship 2010 (in the U-16) Open category in Pattaya and came 26th overall and fourth among girls. Aishwarya, who will be seen in action in Doha later this month at Sail the Gulf event, hopes to perform well.