CHENNAI: When the final list of Indian athletes going to Tokyo is compiled, it maybe worth spending some extra time over the career choices of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar. While a fair few Indian athletes drop out of school to pursue cricket, athletics or hockey essentially disciplines that are either highly rewarding in terms of money or awards and subsequent government jobs Thakkar and Ganapathy quit school to put all their eggs in the sailing basket.
As a country, India, because of it being a peninsula, is a good location for sailing. But the advantage ends there. There is a lack of know how, Indian coaches are few and far between, role models are non existent and boats are expensive. That, however, didn’t stop the duo from pursuing what some might have labelled as a moonshot. “It wasn’t a gamble,” Thakkar said during an interaction organised by the SAI on Wednesday. “Since India isn’t very strong in sailing, we had to put in extra hours. To do that, we had to do what we did (leave school).”
Even though their respective parents supported their decision (both athletes have since completed open schooling), they made it clear that ‘finishing in the middle isn’t going to do the job. If you don’t win, there will be questions asked’. It’s been several years since they had conversation at home and both of them, when asked to reflect on that decision, said it’s been worth it. “It’s definitely not for everyone,” Ganapathy, who will be sailing with Thakkar in the 49er in Tokyo, said. “We thought it through. There’s been certain goals we wanted to achieve and we have consistently been achieving them. Touch wood.”
These goals have included qualifying for the Asian Games, medalling there and qualifying for the Olympics. Their next goal is an Olympic medal. While that’s unrealistic, at least in 2021, the support they have received, both from the federation (upon their insistence,they have been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme) has made it possible for them to dream. “It’s allowed us to get more support to one day get an Olympic medal.”