WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024
Dolcy D’Cruz
Students of European School of Goa, Dayne, 16, and Katya
Coelho, 15, are excellent in academics, but get them to the water and you can watch
them fly! After all, they are professional windsurfing champions who are making
Goa proud. The brother-sister duo recently returned from Singapore after
competing in the 34th SIM Open Asian Windsurfing Championship, winning bronze
medals in the Techno – Youth Olympic Class for boys and girls respectively.
“I am so proud of my kids; it’s one of the happiest days of my life as it was my dream as much as theirs to win a medal for the country. It was a proud moment for us, as Indians, to see the Indian flag flying high on the shores of Singapore and making it all the more special was the fact that we celebrated this victory together on the eve of our 66th Republic Day,” says Donald.
Donald Coelho, father of Dayne, Katya and Kaya, 8, was spellbound by the sport when he was introduced to it at the age of 20. Donald has been the National Champion in Windsurfing for three consecutive years (2010, 2011, 2012). He wanted his children to show the same enthusiasm towards the sport and they didn’t disappoint him. “It was in 2006-07 when I had gone to Italy for a competition that I saw small kids taking to the sea with great equipment. I bought the equipment for Dayne and since he used to watch me participate in the Nationals, he took to the water quite naturally,” says Donald.
Dayne and Katya have a set schedule for their studies and their training. “We practise every day regardless of the wind conditions as we can’t predict any weather conditions for the competitions. From 2.30pm to 5pm, we train in the sea. I go by the coach boat to brief them while they practise their techniques under my guidance. Katya has very good techniques while Dayne loves strong winds,” explains Donald. Besides training in the water, the youngsters also spend 90 minutes in the gym, training core muscles.
Speaking about their competition in Singapore, Donald adds, “Usually, before any competition, I go a few days in advance to understand the wind and current flow. Since this was the third time Dayne was participating in the competition, we went just a day in advance. The events of the day were rewarding but also quite draining. Once we returned home, we were in a celebratory mode with the entire family.”
Katya Coelho was the youngest, first and only sailor from India to have qualified for the Windsurfing Youth Olympic Games at the age of 14 while Dayne is a five time National Champion and has participated in ten international competitions. The duo is now focused on training for an Olympic win.
Donald’s dedication towards the sport is not limited to his family. In 2009, Donald formed the Goa Beach Sport Academy which conducts annual camps for people interested. Although Donald hopes the popularity of the sport picks up in Goa, he acknowledges that the cost of equipment, which is a minimum of Rs 1 lakh, as well as the fact that parents are unsure about the seriousness of the sport in their child’s life, are drawbacks that need to be tackled. But he’s facing these challenges with full optimism.
