Soli Contractor is the grand old man of Indian sailing. Winner of the bronze medal in the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, 74-year-old Contractor has not lost any of his zeal and enthusiasm. He has been the government observer since five years. His main focus is on the Asian Games that will be held at South Korea next year. He is here for the Inland Laser National Sailing championship that is being held on Hussainsagar.
“Our chances are good in Asian Games. We have to be optimistic. I think we can do well in the laser class and this national here assumes importance. That is what the Army Yachting Node (AYN) in Mumbai is concentrating and you will see the results. They have hired a New Zealand coach, Dan Slater, who is very good. He has brought up the standards. There is tremendous improvement in the AYN sailors. There is a marked change in their technique. In Asia, the best sailors are from China, thanks to their coaching system. Japan used to be good but the main threat will come from hosts South Korea, who can exploit the home conditions,” said the veteran sailor.
As a principle, Contractor said they have decided to concentrate on youth. “It is a four-year plan. To be honest, there is great improvement in the sport. I was asked to take over as government observer five years ago by the sports ministry. We thought we should start from the grassroot level and widen the base. We concentrated on youth classes,” he said.
Their policy was successful to some extent, feels Contractor. “We have few exciting boys in the 29er Class. We will now focus on Asian meets. There is good quality sailing in Asia. For example, Singapore have best coaches and their standard is high. So too are Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan,” he said.
The most important thing, according to Contractor, is to improve in earnestness and desire to win. “Others will follow. Chennai has shown their way in their dedication. The technique is very high in international sailing. Olympics is very professional. They are far too ahead. The Olympian sailors are supposed to be amateurs but they are into full time sailing. When it is too cold in Europe, they come south to Spain, France. All the good competitions are held there. There are a lot of sponsors. We have a long way to go and I think the best way is to concentrate on Asian circuit of each class first,” signed off Contractor, who participated in the Bangkok Asian Games with a borrowed boat and sail. “Things have improved. There is more money now and more support.”