CHENNAI: Varsha Gautham is no stranger to the ups and downs of life. From battling the national federation to winning medals at Asian Games, the Chennai girl has had an eventful sailing career. In fact, such has been the pressure on her that at 21, she decided to take a break from the sport. Though she wanted to stay away from the waters, it came flowing back to her.
Still in touch with former national coach and mentor Peter Conway, Varsha got an opportunity to try out what it’s like to be on the other side. Conway, who runs a company called Toplevel Sailing, gets plenty of assignments around the globe. And when they undertook one such job in Egypt, Varsha was given a rare chance to coach.
"I took a break from competitive sailing after Asian Games last year because of the politics and the lack of funding, among other things. I was happy that I did. I did not mean to get into coaching entirely. But I was lucky to have the chance, thanks to Peter. I was in Egypt from July to October, coaching the Yacht Club of Egypt team. It comprises most of their national sailors. When they reached out to Conway for a three-month class, they recommended me. It was a developmental-level sailing course," said Varsha.
Though the Egypt experience was refreshing, the 49er FX sailor thought that this was just a one-off stint. But that wasn’t the case. While training Taiwanese sailors in Spain for the Tokyo Olympics, Conway recently suffered an unfortunate injury and had to undergo surgery. That handed Varsha her second coaching stint. “In Spain, I was actually helping out my coach. He was not very mobile.”
While Varsha described the entire experience as a jolly one, she knows that the fun has come to an end. With the Olympics looming, she is keen to get back to competitive sailing. Pairing up with former partner Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan — with whom she won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in the 29er category — she is now focusing on the Asian Sailing Championship in China. The only remaining Olympic qualifier for her will begin on March 20.
All these years, India have not managed to book a sailing berth at the quadrennial event through merit. They’ve always made it through wild-card entries. Varsha is determined to change this. "Singapore qualified during the World Championships. With one more Asian spot available, the race is going to be between India, China and Thailand."
While that will be easier said than done, the 2018 Asian Games silver-medallist is not regretting her decision to take a break during a crucial year. Starting January, she and Aishwarya will train in Mumbai, under the supervision of national coach Tomasz Januszewski. “The others are also training in Mumbai, and it is important for us to have a reference. One block of 20 days in January and one more in February is the plan. Then we are planning to go there (China) on March 5, so that we will have some days there before the event starts.”