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Cascais, a coastal resort town 30 kms from Lisbon, is currently home to India’s sailing duo of Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy, or GanaVarun as they call themselves. The Olympic-bound duo have been training there since the waters at Cascais offer conditions that will be similar to the ones they’ll face at Enoshima, the venue for sailing at the Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, 24-year-old Varun Thakkar said:
“We have been refreshing our skills. Some of the aspects we have been working on include boat handling and drills to improve speed. We have also been working to bring consistency in the manoeuvres that are performed while racing, and ways to improve them.”
Thakkar and Ganapathy will compete at the 49er event. This particular type of sailing requires a two-man team to work the skiff. In their pair, Thakkar controls the sail of the boat, whereas Ganapathy takes charge of the steering.
Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy's great partnership
The two sailors share a great camaraderie and have been competing as a team since 2014. Both sailors were brought up in Chennai and learned the basics of sailing at the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association. They initially competed at 29er events and eventually shifted to the bigger 49er boat.
For Thakkar, it was his father who motivated him to take up the sport.
“He took us, me and my sister, sailing at a very young age. We were about six or seven. We stopped after some time but I resumed after I was a little older and continued training at TNSA.”
The journey to the Olympics
However, it has not always been smooth sailing for this duo from Chennai. They failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics after managing a fourth-place finish in the qualifiers. After the setback, Ivan Stuart Warren was appointed as India’s chief coach, and the duo haven’t looked back since.
Warren’s training techniques and set-up worked for Thakkar and Ganapathy, and under his charge the pair clinched a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Despite the coach quitting his job citing contractual issues with the Sports Authority of India, Thakkar and Ganapathy paid his salary out of their own pockets to prepare under him and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The sailors from Chennai were able to achieve their goal as they secured an Olympic berth with a win at the Mussanah Open Sailing Championships in Oman in April 2021. Speaking about the coach’s influence on the duo’s performance, Thakkar said:
“He has been with us since 2017. We hired him personally after he left the Indian team and worked with him to qualify for the Olympics. In 2019, the Indian team got another coach but it did not work right for us. His set-ups did not suit our way of sailing so we went back to Ian Stuart Warren.”
Ian Stuart Warren is currently with them in Portugal and will be their coach for the Olympics, something the pair have been demanding for their preparations. Varun Thakkar credits the Target Olympic Podium Scheme for this.
“After the Olympic qualifiers, the Indian government has been supporting us under the TOP Scheme and has been providing us funds to hire the coach.”
Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy see the chance to compete at the Olympics as a dream come true and an opportunity to express themselves. The Chennai lads, who learned the tricks of their trade in the Indian Ocean waters, are not worried about results and just wish to perform to the best of their abilities. Thakkar said:
“Our realistic goal will be to finish in the top 10. Our aim is to have fun, give our best shot and not worry too much about the results. We have a process and we believe in it. If we keep doing the right thing, we’ll get good results.”
Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and are scheduled to depart for Tokyo on the 12th of July. They are part of a four-member sailing contingent that will represent India at the Olympics. The duo will be in action in their event – the 49er – from 27th July.
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