Having begun windsurfing at the age of 10, Katya Coelho’s talent and passion for the sport has led her to many victories and titles
MARIA FERNANDES
Katya Coelho is no stranger to the water and windsurfing. Born in a family where her father and brother are well-known windsurfers, the sport came quite naturally to her.
While windsurfing may appear easy, it isn’t child’s play. It requires peak fitness, single-minded dedication, an understanding of the weather and wind and, of course, hours of training. For years, Coelho has been on the top of her game and has won 15 national gold medals and two bronze at the Asian Open Championship in Techno 2015, besides numerous other accolades. She was the first and only Indian female windsurfer to compete at the Youth Olympics in 2014. She has also participated in the 2018 Asian Games and is the first female iQFoiler in the country.
“Watching my father and then my brother (both national champions) participate in competitive wind-surfing was what got me interested in the sport,” she says. “Initially, it was a hobby but soon my competitive spirit kicked in and I realised I wanted to sharpen my skills and compete.”
Training in this sport is not cheap and Coelho had to make many sacrifices. But her focus and determination did not dwindle or falter.
“During the first few years, my father focused more on my brother who was the reigning national champion (he still is). The sport is an expensive one, so I would usually train with my brother’s old equipment or equipment he grew out of. I would watch and learn what he did and try and figure things out for myself. My main aim at the time was to compete and beat him so that I’d have an upper hand,” she says laughing.
After a few nationals, she and her brother decided to test international waters and participated in championships around the globe. “At our first international competition, we competed with around 50-odd participants. This was very different from back home, where we competed against two or three others,” she recounts. “It was tough and we could hardly even finish the races. We were definitely disappointed but that did not stop us. We understood where we had failed and realised how much harder we had to work.”
Weather conditions play an important role in sailing and wind surfing and for Coelho, participating in the colder countries was hard. “99 per cent of the time, we were the only Indians competing in windsurfing and it did give us a sense of pride to represent our country and to see our flag flying high in another country. It truly is a feeling like no other.”
With dogged determination, backed by intensive training, Coelho won her first international medal in Singapore at the Asian Sailing Championships when she was 15. “I was on top of the world but also knew that I would have to work harder if I wanted to accomplish more,” she says.
Obstacles and mishaps have dotted her journey, and it has not been all smooth sailing. One such hurdle was when she injured herself at the Asian Games. “I was halfway through the competition when I tore my ACL (one of the key ligaments of the knee) completely. It was devastating as I had to take a two-year break,” she says. “Sailing is a sport that requires you to be mentally strong because you are almost always in unpredictable wind conditions and you have to be ready for anything.”
While she was recuperating, a lot changed in the sport. Windsurfing took on a new shape and was upgraded to windfoiling, a new Olympic class. The difference between windsurfing and windfoiling, she explains, is the hydrofoil attached to the fin which creates an enormous amount of upward force that lifts the board more than two-three feet above the water. Hence, instead of riding the windsurf board on the surface of the water, the surfer actually rides the foil which remains submerged beneath the water surface. Coelho is the first Indian woman to compete in the
iQFoil category and is training rigorously.
“At present, this sport is new for everyone, so it’s a bit of trial and error. Also, since you’re foiling above water you’re going at a much faster speed, which is at times scary and gets dangerous too. But the fun you have is what aces everything,” she states.
Next in line for her are the Asian Games. “I look forward to representing India again, this time on the iQFoil,” she says.
For anyone interested in this sport, she encourages them to join. “It’s not as scary as it seems once you overcome your fears. It’s a sport that will always keep you physically fit and is super fun! So do give it a try,” she says.