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The coming week will bring cooler temperatures, sunny skies and 125 of the best sailors to the country. The Yachting Association of India (YAI) Senior National Championship 2015, being hosted by the Indian Navy Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC) Mumbai, will take place from Monday, Oct 19 to Friday, Oct. 23.

“We’re no stranger to hosting championships and are very excited to host the prestigious Senior National Championship at Mumbai,” said Vice Admiral SPS Cheema Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, which is organising the regatta.

This year’s Senior National Championship will see more than 125 competitors in the Laser (Standard), Laser (Radial), 470 (Men), RS:X (Men), Enterprise and Hobie 16 from all over the country vying for the title in the respective classes. The races are scheduled over five days off Mumbai’s Sunk Rock Lighthouse. The Lasers, 470, RSX and Hobie racing will have significant emphasis on athleticism and makes sailing one of the most competitive sport.

Keep an eye out for Army Yachting Node sailor B Mohapatra, the Nationally Ranked #1 Laser (Standard) sailor and a strong favourite to win the Laser (Standard) National Champions title. Also to watch out will be the 17 year old Nethra Kumanan from Tamil Nadu, who is vying for Olympic 2016 qualification, scheduled at Oman in mid November 15. She has flown down from Israel where she is currently training under Eshed Mesertiz, the renowned Israeli sailor and coach. Also, defending their title will be the reigning Hobie 16 National Champions Brij Verma and Pankaj Kumar from the Indian Navy. The fleet in 470, the Olympic Class boat will see 10 skippers from Army Yachting Node in action, with Sheikh and Jain as favourites to win the title.

The Asian Games 2014 medallist Varsha and Aishwarya and the team of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar, who won the 2013 European Championship in the 29er class will be away in Argentina for the forthcoming 49er and 49erFX World Championship, which is also an Olympic 2016 qualifying event.

The YAI Youth National Championship 2015 will be held at Chennai during 25 to 29 November 2015 in conjunction with the India International Regatta.

DKS/CKP