iSporter and ace sailor Rohini Rau gives us an account of her silver medal winning performance in the ‘President’s Cup’ held in Istanbul last week.
The Indian Laser Sailing Team of Three Laser Radial Sailors and One Laser Standard Sailor sailed the ‘President’s Cup’ at Istanbul, Turkey from 12 -16 August, 2010.
The team arrived at the picturesque city of Istanbul on August 9, 2010. The Istanbul Yelken Kulubu at Fenerbahce which is also home to the largest football stadium in Turkey extended a warm welcome to the twelve participating nations. They took care of accommodation, food, boats and entry fee… so all we had to do was get there!
For the first time, I found myself in a European country that was as hot as my home city, Chennai - almost 35 degrees centigrade! This was certainly a welcome relief to the freezing temperatures I experienced during the European Championship in Estonia, Keil Week in Germany and the Worlds in Scotland earlier in summer.
The Turkish President
The opening ceremony was grand. It took place in their magnificent Yacht Club with the President of Turkey - Abdullah Gül, as chief guest. This called for heightened security.
Surprisingly, even though the Regatta took place during Ramadan, there were quite a few guests present at the opening ceremony. What was even more surprising was the number of sailors taking part who continued to fast even during the races. Hats off to them!
We got our boats one day before the races
We got our boats exactly one day before the races started. It was a good first day, with Rajesh Choudhary leading the Laser Radial fleet with two second places. I was 9th overall. Under the able guidance of Pete Conway (Head India Coach) we made small improvements throughout this training Regatta.
Finally a professional coach for the Indian Laser Team
It was wonderful to have an Olympic level coach work with the Indian team. It certainly made us look and feel more professional. For Rajesh Choudhary this was part of his training for the Asian Games and for me it was a step forward towards Olympic qualifications.
And for Pete Conway this was a great start with 3 of us winning medals. Rajesh Choudhary – Gold (Laser Radial), B.K Raut – Silver (Laser Radial), and me -Rohini Rau, Silver (Laser Radial Women). What was even more exciting in Race Nine – the second last race of the series on the last day of racing, in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner, India finished in a row……Rajesh 2nd, Rohini 3rd and Raut 4th .
Magnificent sights of Istanbul
On the last day we managed to squeeze in some sightseeing before we headed to the airport. We visited the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet (Hippodrome) and the Grand Bazaar. It was a very quick sight seeing tour. One blink and it was over. But, what a wonderful old city!
My second international medal in the Laser Radial
This is my second international medal in the Laser Radial Class; I hope to bring home a lot more in the future. I am getting closer to my dream of becoming the first Indian Woman Sailor to qualify India for the 2012 Olympics.
Emerging Nations Program Camp 5
And the icing on the cake is that I have been invited back to Camp 5 of the Emerging Nations Program in Perth, Australia, and will be leaving for Perth on October 13 for three weeks. This Camp will be perfect training for the World Test Event in Perth which is the test event for the World Championship to be held in 2011. The Perth 2011 event will be the first qualifier for the 2012 Olympics. Wish me luck!
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means alot! 
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