Telangana's Vaishnavi Veeravamsham India's Youngest Sailor at Oman Senior Girl’s World Championship

Hyderabad: Vaishnavi Veeravamsham will compete in the Oman Senior Girl's World Championship as the country's youngest sailor. The competition will begin on December 1, 2021, in Musannah Bay.

Vaishnavi is praised by many for her achievements since she is the youngest sailor at the Oman Senior Girl's World Championship, at the age of 15, in a competition with an average age of 25 competitors.

Vaishnavi finished second in the national rankings after topping the nationals in Hyderabad and Bombay, earning her a spot in the senior girls' world championship. She only turned 15 in October and is the youngest person to ever win a championship at such a young age.

"I am proud to be selected to represent India, but at my age and with just 6 months of experience on the Laser Radial boat, I am worried that it will be the most difficult championship of my life, but I hope to gain from the experience. I thank my coach and mentor, Suheim Sheikh, sir, for bringing me up to this level," she said.

She wowed the sailing community by winning three trophies during the Hyderabad Sailing Week in August, as well as bronze at the Senior Nationals in Bombay after narrowly losing out on silver owing to a penalty.

Nethra Kumanon, India's first female Olympian in sailing at the Tokyo Games, and the championship's top-ranked player, will also compete. This is her first major tournament since winning gold at the Grand Canaria Nationals in Spain following the Olympics. Vaishnavi and Nethra are practising with the world's best athletes from more than 30 countries at the location.

"We cannot expect Vaishnavi to excel given her limited experience in the Laser, but being ranked 2nd, she deserves every possibility for exposure at the international level and each experience will add to her capability," said Suheim Sheikh, President of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad in Oman.

Ravali Parandi and Jhansipriya, both from Telangana, were picked for the Asian Championships in Thailand earlier this year. Ravali Parandi, the national champion, finished ninth among Asian females and will compete at the senior level in the 470 Mixed class event at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.