City boy P. Leela Sagar highlighted his potential as a sailor with a victory in the Optimist National Sailing Championships held in Bhopal recently. He is a product of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad (YCH), which was instituted six years ago.

Leela Sagar handled his boat with great skill to win six races out of 12 and displayed commendable maturity and confidence while doing so. He had bagged gold during the Monsoon Regatta in July 2014, and also had won a bro nze at the Coastal Nationals at Bombay in October 2014. After the triumph at Bhopal, he is now among the top ranked national sailors in his category. “The boy is a natural, is determined and learns by instinct. He has realised that there is no substitute for hard work and resilience. He will surely go places,” said Suheim Sheikh, his coach and mentor for the last three years.

Sagar well and truly proved himself by beating several sailors who had taken part in competitions all over the world. His rise to the top has come after three years of hard work, dedication and participation in several hard-fought championships. He first joined the sport at the YCH through Naandi Foundation about three years ago.

Despite being a quick learner, his light body proved to be a handicap and he finished at the bottom of the fleet on debut. But later, he made up for the lost ground, developed the skill and craft, and made rapid progress. Two more youngsters Musti Saibaba and P. Raju, who joined the YCH through the LSN Foundation, showed promise and finished 14th and 15th.

Wins six races out of 12 in the Optimist National Sailing Championships held in Bhopal recently

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Abhijit Sen Gupta / Hyderabad – January 11th, 2014