CHENNAI: With less than a month to go for the Asian Games, athletes are all busy fine-tuning their preparation. Some are crossing the t’s. Others are furiously working on their weaknesses. A few have identified the opponents they need to be wary of.
For two sailors — KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar — the last few months has been spent in something more fundamental to their craft. Getting intimate with their machine which has undergone several changes in this Olympic cycle.
“We are just figuring out how this boat moves,” says Varun, who has spent the last three months training in Barcelona. The main change is centred around the sailcloth used for making the sails. In the earlier version, the 49-er pair had kevlar material. Now? It’s 3DI.
Sounds complicated? Varun tries to simplify it. “Our equipment has changed a little bit compared to last season. The whole feel of the boat changes because you are using a different type of cloth used on the sail. The way it reacts to the dynamic controls of the boat, the way it sets on the boat... it’s all a bit different. Every Olympic cycle, the manufacturers have to do a small change. Now they have basically moved from Kevlar to a 3DI.”
Varun, who medalled at the Jakarta Games with Ganapathy, further breaks down what a 3DI is.
“The difference is in durability and sustainability. It lasts longer. When compared to the earlier sail, this one can last one more event. It’s also made very differently. It’s pre-heated in an oven and a lot of glue is used to stick it. We got the version in March. We have been studying and figuring out but there are changes. It’s a carrying a lot more power on the boat compared to before.”
On their training sessions itself, Varun, who returns to Chennai on Thursday before leaving for Hangzhou on September 7, said: “We have been working under a Spanish coach, Ramos. We also had a small stint with a Portuguese coach who has taken part at the Olympics. He understands our boat and we were able to get some finer inputs and a different perspective.”
On the Asian Games itself, he said they are going with an objective of medalling.
“We have an objective of medalling but no extra unnecessary pressure. Not looking at it that way. Whatever we have been doing in training, we hope to put it into practice.”