The Hindu : Sport / Sailing : Harihara calls the shots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 21, 2005

Sport

Sport - Sailing

Harihara calls the shots

A. Joseph Antony

HYDERABAD: Vupputuri Harihara called the shots in races three and four of the Radial rig in the Laser National sailing championships at Hussain Sagar on Saturday.

Having finished second and third on Friday, Harihara, a Naik with the Corps of Engineers, Pune and now attached to the Army Yachting Node (AYN) in Mumbai, led the fleet half way into the championship.

Hot on his heels was young Salil Sabir of the Goa Yachting Association (GYA), who finished first and second on Friday and was placed fourth and second on Saturday.

Harihara, whose strapping physique came in handy in high wind and overcast conditions, finished at least a 10-boat length margin over his nearest competitor. None ran him close in either of the races, except Bijay Kumar Rout on the concluding `reach' of the third race.

Rout, the defending champion, misread the wind shifts on the `beats', on account of which he fell behind, particularly in the fourth race.

Rajesh Choudhary's domination of the Standard rig continued, as he clinched the third race handsomely and the fourth narrowly. The results: Laser Radial: Race III: 1. V. Harihara (AYN) 2. B. K. Rout (AYN) 3. Amit Arvind (INWTC) 4. Salil Sabir (GYA) 5. Sukhvir Singh (AYN) 6. Parvinder Singh (AYN).

Race IV: V. Harihara 2. Salil Sabir 3. Amit Arvind 4. B.K. Rout 5. Shekhar S. Yadav (NSC, Vsp) 6. Sukhvir Singh. Laser Standard: Race III: 1. Rajesh Choudhary (AYN) 2. N.S. Johal (CESC) 3. R. Mahesh (INWTC) 4. Amit Arvind (INWTC) 5. Jasvir Singh (AYN) 6. Naresh Yadav (INWTC).

Race IV: 1. Rajesh Choudhary 2. N.S. Johal 3. R. Mahesh 4. D.P. Selvam (AYN) 5. Jasvir Singh 6. Naresh Yadav.

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