The Hindu : Sport : Depression leaves sailors disappointed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 04, 2004

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Sport - Sports : General

Depression leaves sailors disappointed

By Our Sports Reporter

CHENNAI, MAY 3. Amit Arvind unrigged his laser, looking a touch disappointed. The conditions in the outer harbour were ideal for an experienced sailor like him to show his mettle, though the choppy waters and the huge swells owing to the depression in the bay would have tested most of the full rig and radial fleet on the opening afternoon of the Indian Oil-TNSA Coastal Nationals here on Monday.

While the rough conditions of the sea and the squally winds saw the opening two races in the optimist class cancelled in the morning, the action in the laser category was called off with the fleet at the start line. The reason given was that the sailors found it difficult to sight the marks owing to the swells.

"We had to cancel the races as the marks needed modifications," said race officer Julka. "It wasn't standing upright. We'll get it ready tomorrow."

Arvind from NSC (Mumbai), who won his maiden laser radial crown in the 2003 edition in Chennai, is participating in the full-rig class of a National for the first time. The other leading names in this category are Selvam and Harihara, both of AYN (Mumbai).

Capt. Meenu Dahiya of AYN and Goa's Salil Sabir are the two prominent names in the laser radial section.

The optimist class is highly competitive as Goa's Chaitanya Chougule, the defending champion, and Abhishek Mathre of SSC (Mumbai) are in the fray. Among the girls, Snehal Desai of SCC (Mumbai) and Goa's Trisha Sabir are the ones to watch out for.

Three races have been scheduled in each class for Tuesday.

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