Sailing duo Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy turn carriers, get boats from UAE to Oman

CHENNAI: Varun  Thakkar and KC Ganapathy got down to work in the last week of February. Stationed in Abu Dhabi thanks to a sponsor, they were getting ready for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers. Then, word got to them.

The already rescheduled meet, one last chance for Asian sailors to book a place in Tokyo, would be moved to Oman from April 1 to 8. That’s when both of them had an inkling of the task at hand: moving their equipment from Abu Dhabi in the UAE to Al Musannah Sports City, some 100 kms north of Muscat, Oman.

Not just their boats but also moving the equipment of the entire Indian contingent. The first thing both of them did was make a list, jotting down the items they had to move. "Sails, foils, spars, ropes, tools.. etc. etc," says Ganapathy.

In all, they had to retrieve from inside the storage of the Abu Dhabi port the nuts and bolts of more than 10 boats and put them together. It's exactly like it sounds, super hard work. "All the boats were already dismantled. The main issue was finding all the parts in storage and putting it together. So much lifting in the sun is pretty hard here," he says.

The Asian Games medallist jokes that it took 'grit, spit and a lot of duct tape' to get it done. But he's sure that his teammates would have done the same for him if they happened to be in Abu Dhabi. "I’m sure if our teammates were here, they’d have done the same for us," he said. 

Even if Ganapathy is quick to downplay his role, India's laser coach, Alexandr Denisiuc, praises the pair. "It took a lot of effort to organise, to do the packing from one to another place. Thanks to 49er boys, Gana and Varun who managed that logistic mission on their own for the entire Indian team."

The boats of most of the Indian team got stuck in Abu Dhabi last March as the team was preparing for original Olympic qualifier.

As COVID-19 struck, all of them hurriedly got into flights to come back to India to beat lockdown. If Varun and Ganapathy hadn’t helped the team out, the entire squad will have had to rent equipment onsite to compete.

Not ideal in an Olympic qualifier.  Back to the present and the contingent, who have already reached the Sports City - the boats are still in UAE waiting for the paperwork to be cleared before they can be shipped via road to neighbouring Oman - just finished serving quarantine.

The challenge between now and April 1 is to get familiar with the water, conditions and the boat. Denisiuc says the team is shaping up well. "Gym and workouts are permitted after 48 hours of quarantine and two local tests with negative results. Everyone is going to gym and doing their physical preparation. As soon as the boats are here, we are allowed to go out according to protocol to test the locals. I think all the teams are going through the same procedure, so everyone is equal on that side," he remarks.

Ganapathy goes further, he says they have the ability to qualify for the Olympics: a place where no Indian sailor has been since 2008. "If we go out and sail our best, we've the skill and experience to win Time, as always, will tell," he adds.