She loves water and adventure. This made her opt for sailing three years ago. “I attended a 10-day summer course on sailing organised by the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association. After which I joined the association as a member,” says Meaghanaa Badrinath, a Class XII student of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, Chennai. Today, she holds the second rank at national level.
Despite having theory classes, most lessons are learnt during practical sessions. “One needs to learn to read the wind and wind shifts and also the tides and master troubleshooting techniques, if necessary,” says Meaghanaa. She adds that you also get bruised quite often while sailing. “You don’t realise it until you are back home,” she is quick to add.
She had her first brush with national-level championships in Goa in 2010. “I was a little scared. But I knew how to perform in a competition as we usually practise through races in Chennai,” she says. There are sailing events held once in one or two months. But the only difference between sailing and other sports is that one can directly enter national-level events.
“Generally, not many women take up sailing. Thus, at national-level events, there is hardly any competition from women. So, boys and girls race together in the same event,” she adds. She recently bagged the Gold in the womens’ category in a race held in July.
Her goal is to make it to the Olympics. She acquired her own ‘laser radial’ boat to train for the purpose. Meaghanaa is now gearing up for the Indian International Regatta competition in this month.
— janraj4ever@gmail.com