Ajay Rau to make a come back in the Olympic class.

For 2010 he has been selected to represent India in 2 world championships.

Sydney : For the last two years India’s Ajay rau has been campaigning for the 2010 Asian Games in the radial class. Unable to participate both in the selection trials and Asian games, he has decided to move on and focus on qualifying India for the 2012 Olympic games.

He is focused to make a come back in the Laser Olympic class. He leaves for Hamburg mid June and will be taking part in Kieler Woche , 6^th leg of the ISAF World cup. The world cup event is from the 19^th-27^th June at Kiel . During the world cup 5000 yacht men and women from 50 countries will be racing at the event. The ” who’s who” of international sailing will be lining up . At the moment 120 world class sailors have confirmed participation in the laser class. Ajay made his international debut at this historic event back in 2006. This will his 4^th appearance in the 128 year old event.

“It is going to be a very hard world cup event as It will be the first time I am back in the Olympic class after two years. I am taking this event as a training regatta. My good results in the international radial class and maiden Rolex Sydney Hobart have definitely made me a more positive sailor. I will just have to be patient and do lots of racing hours and fitness before expecting results, but I am confident by 2011, I will be ready for the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers“ says the Indian sailor.

The 22 year old is also selected for the 2010 Senior Radial World Championship ( Scotland ) and Senior Laser Word Championship (England).

Ajay is hoping to improve India’s all time best 15^th position he secured in last years radial world championship in Japan . Rajesh (2010 Indian Asian Games representative) will also be joining the young Indian sailor in Scotland. The second world championship is the Olympic class. Ajay will be the only Indian sailor taking part.

Running the 2010 Sun-Herald City2Surf

I'm running in The Sun-Herald City2Surf and I'm trying to raise as much money as I can for this great cause. Please click on this link to visit my fundraising page to find out all about it. Please dig deep to sponsor me. It only takes a few seconds. Spread the word or join me in the run and send to as many people as possible. Thank you very much. You can visit my fundraising page at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/ajay_rau

United We Sail - by Smitha Ramamurthy

For Indian student Ajay Rau, the sport of sailing has bridged the gaps of racial barriers and launched a platform for cultural harmony. As a journalism student and professional sailor studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Ajay has immersed himself in the Australian way of life and his multicultural surroundings being elected as the Secretary of the UNSW Windsurfing and Sailing Club. For him, the language of sport transcends ethnic and lingual differences because it is a stage that allows everyone to participate, regardless of race. “When you’re on the water, you’re not looked at as just an Australian or Indian. You are purely judged on your skills as a sailor,” Ajay says. “I don’t consider myself as Ajay the Indian. I am Ajay. I have an identity.” Having organised a number of sailing events for the club, he has made lasting relationships with students from various parts of the globe. “I’m friends with an Italian guy who doesn’t even speak proper English but he understands me and I understand him,” he says. “And that’s what Australia is. It’s a beautiful place because it has adopted so many cultures and in that way it’s very similar to India because there is so much diversity.” Ajay was appalled by the recent attacks on fellow Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney. Yet he strongly believes that the attackers represent a small minority of Australians, and not the larger Australian community. He says that in every society, there are minority groups whotake advantage of vulnerable people who are away from their homes and are therefore easy targets. Ajay adds that similarly in India, it is more common for a foreigner rather than a local to be robbed or assaulted by a minority group of people, who do not share the morals and attitudes of most Indians. Ajay says that his enthusiasm to get involved with sporting activities and social events outside of the Indian community has allowed him to effectively integrate within the wider Australian community. “I feel that back in India people should make more of an effort to educate students to learn to adapt to different countries before coming to Australia, and not be closed within your society,” Ajay says. “All of us are very proud Indians but that doesn’t mean that we have to stay only with each other.” “I believe that it doesn’t matter if you’re Indian, Chinese or Australian, everyone has their comforts and I think you should take these rare opportunities to get out of your comfort zones because you don’t know whether you will ever have these opportunities again,” he says. The UNSW Windsurfing and Sailing Club’s recent collaboration with the UNSW German Society resulted in a multicultural sailing day out during the ANZAC Day long weekend. Members of both clubs were invited to wear their national colours and take pride in displaying the diversity of cultures coexisting in Australia. “If you look at history, the Australians and New Zealanders went to Turkey to fight the Germans and today who would’ve known that people from different countries such as Germany and Australia would actually be enjoying a barbeque on the beach,” he notes. Ajay accepts that negative issues such as racism and cultural differences will happen from time to time in every society, but it is important to move forward towards reconciliation rather than contemplate about the past. “And that day had Australians, Germans, Greeks, Swedes and Americans. It’s saying a lot about where Australia is today and where humanity is going,” he says. “We’re all proud of where we’re from but it is high time that we leave our differences aside and just enjoy each other’s company.” He has recently participated in the Sydney to Hobart Yachting Race, making him the first Indian to do so in the history of the event. According to him, it is one of the most “Aussie” things a person can do.

Ajay Rau wins at the Audi Winter series Regatta

Ajay Rau win’s at the Audi Winter series Regatta, Sydney, Australia

He gives Asian Games a miss, but to continue campaigning for Olympics 2012

Sydney harbour witnessed a fleet of 134 boats with a number of incidents as a strong breeze blew. Ajay along with a seven-member crew were division D winners of the 7^th race of the Audi winter series. It was the windiest race of the series so far with gusts reaching up to 30 knots (55 kmph ). Steve Hatch, the skipper, made sure the team had a good solid start at the pin end of the line. In the 2-hour race, the team enjoyed these conditions as the boat is built for this kind of racing.

Ajay’s job on the boat was trimming the jib and the spinnaker. It was an intense race as there was always adjustments to be made and specially during the down wind legs, he had to be careful flying the spinnaker as there was a risk of the big sail tearing due to the heavy winds. “After a cold and windy race it was great to hear the sound signal when you cross the finish line “ a tired but elated Ajay said.

Later on Sunday, CYCA Director David Champtaloup announced the winners at a presentation at the CYCA (Cruising Yacht club of Australia)

2009 and 2010 has been a good year for sailing for the 22 year old but there have been compromises made beyond his control to ensure that he continues his international sailing campaign. Earlier this year he had impressive results in Chennai, Qatar and China leading up to the Asian Games selections but later to his disappointment found out that he had to give the selections a miss due to an unfavorable schedule due to his university education. “ My final exams are clashing with the Asian Games and finishing my education is as important as my sporting career, “ said the talented Indian sailor. He is expected to continue his 2012 Olympic campaign and has lots of challenges ahead. He is confident with the support of his family, sponsors and well-wishers that despite not being able to continue his Asian games campaign, he will be able to qualify India for the Olympic games.

2010 Australian University Sailing Report UNSW

The 2010 'Zhik' Australian University Fleet Racing Regatta was held on April 8-10, hosted by Great Lakes Sailing Club (GLSC) at Forster, NSW. This unique event included a representation from international students from India, Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Italy. Tasars, Lasers and NS 14s were the best represented classes and competitors were split into two fleets based on their Handicap system. At the end of the series, University of New South Wales comfortably won the overall point score to take home the major overall team trophy. The overall championship trophy was awarded based on a combination of results and participation. Other universities will be hoping to challenge UNSW for the trophy next year. 'In hardly a couple of months our club has managed to win the inaugural team trophy, this speaks well about the team of sailors we have at UNSW' says UNSW team captain Ajay Rau. Colin Cheng from UNSW won the monohull division, while Brett Goodall from Team Monash won the cats and skiffs division. Elizabeth Yin from Sydney Uni won the female division ahead of Tara McCall and Alice Walker from UNSW. The next event on the university sailing calendar is the world match racing championships in Greece, UNSW's very own Tara McCall is part of team representing Australia. This will be followed by the major university sailing event for 2010 – the Australian University Games (AUG) at Perth in September 2010. The sailing program at AUG will include match racing on Foundation 36 yachts and teams racing on Pacers. Teams of six to eight students can represent their university in Australia's largest annual multi-sport event, which attracts between 6000 and 8000 university students annually from 42 universities. In the Match racing division 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart sailors Andrea Green and Ajay Rau are expected to be part of UNSW team at the AUG's in Perth. Contact unswsailingclb(at)gmail.com if you are interested in supporting UNSW at AUG's. We are looking for Sponsorship to ensure that we bring home the trophy to UNSW.

Ajay Rau finished 13th at his first Asian Sailing Championship

The 14th Asian Sailing Championship (China) saw 320 sailors from 14 countries take part in various classes.Only the top two ranked sailors from these countries were invited to participate at these championship's .

It has been a long season for Ajay but he still managed to put up some encouraging performances . He was 8th overall at the midway stage but managed to slip to 13th position by the end of the regatta .Finally the young sailor has some time to relax and refresh his batteries . He will then resume his training for the 2010 World championships. This week , he will be enjoying himself taking part in the 2010 Australian University Regatta .He will be racing a Nacra16 Square ( Single handed Cat).

Here is a report below according to an online edition of India's National Newspaper - The Hindu

Saturday, Mar 27, 2010

Sport - Sailing Ajay does well CHENNAI: India's Ajay Rau, currently taking part in the laser radial open class category at the Asian Sailing Championships in Shanwei, China, did the country proud by finishing first and fourth in the two races held on Friday. Six more races remain this series. The regatta finishes on March 29. It had been a slow start in the championship with 2 to 3 knot winds and very heavy fog. After the first day, races were cancelled for two days. The winds picked up and this favoured India's youngest sailor Ajay, who is steadfastly working to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The Indian is supported by SAI, SDAT, AMM Foundation and Mittals Champions Trust.

Results

http://sailingasian.org/event/result/OFFICIAL%20RESULTS/laser%20radial.pdf

Ajay Rau Selected for 2010 Asian,European & World Championship's

India’s Ajay Rau finished 10^th at Sail the Gulf Regatta 2010

Wind Conditions in the capital city of Qatar ,Doha during the regatta were next to nothing ranging between 2 to 3 knots. . It was difficult racing conditions as there was hardly much wind. Ajay still managed a top ten overall finish out of the 36 sailors, despite it being a very challenging regatta for the sailor. It was unfortunate that the popular sandstorm conditions did not come through the race area.

With coming 2^nd in the national squad trials , Ajay got selected for the 2010 Asian Sailing Championships and 2010 World & European Laser Radial Men Championships.

The Asian Sailing Championship will showcase only the best sailors from Asia and it is the last test event before the important Asian Games.. Ajay has to work hard to impress selectors if he wants to represent India at the Asian Games, he faces though competition from fellow countryman, Rajesh Choudhry (Asian Games Silver/Bronze medalist ) . The Asian Games follow the Olympic format where only one entry is allowed per country.

Ajay is excited about the prospect of improving his 15^th position he secured last year at the 2009 world championships held in Japan. The Worlds will be held at United Kingdom, Largs

Team India set to Leave for Sail the Gulf 2010

Team India all set to leave for Sail the Gulf 2010

18th Qatar International Regatta (Sail the Gulf) 2010 will be held from 16 – 20 February 2010 (ISAF Grade 3). More than 200 Sailors & Officials from 28 countries i.e. Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, CANADA, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tunis, UAE, UK and host Qatar have confirmed their entries for the event of the middle east. Team India is all set to leave to Doha tomorrow afternoon.

India has confirmed a team of 20 Sailors and Officials. Royal Madras yacht club sailors Ajay Rau, Zephra Currimbhoy and Vir Menon have confirmed their participation in the event.

In the radial/Optimist class’s Rajesh Choudhary and Upamanyu dutta from Mumbai will be leading the charge for Team India.

Chennai’s Ajay Rau is Rajesh Choudhary’s closest challenge for the lone Asian Games spot. Rajesh has a wealth of experience in the class having won a silver and bronze medal at the last two editions of the Asian Games, Ajay is yet to compete in an Asian games. Sail the Gulf is one of the many preparatory events for Team India leading to the 2010 Asian Games.

National Squad Announced

Sailing squads

CHENNAI: The selection trials for the National Sailing Squad for the year 2010 came to an end on January 24 in Mumbai and Chennai.The top 2 in the Radial class ( Rajesh/Ajay) have been selected to represent India at the upcoming Asian Sailing Championships to be held at China.This the last test event before the 2010 Asian Games which will be held at the same venue.

The squads (National):

Laser radial: Rajesh Choudhary, Ajay Rau, Jasvir Singh, Dharmender Singh, Rohini Rau, Gaurav Randhawa, Gajender Singh, B.K. Raut, Naveen Kumar, Ramesh Kumar.

Allan confident of Ajay, Rohini

CHENNAI: Sailor Allan Julie firmly believes in the adage ‘talk less, work more’.

The 32-year-old from Seychelles, who has taken part in four successive Olympics and 13 World championships, prefers to let his work do the talking.

Allan has taken Ajay Rau and Rohini Rau under his wings as the two are training hard for the selection trials of the Asian sailing championship (in Shanwei, China, from March 20 to 29) scheduled to be held from January 20 to 24 at the Chennai Harbour.

“Only two sailors can qualify from India. All the top teams from Army Yachting Node, Bhopal Sailing School and others are taking part in the trials held in two categories — laser radial and optimist class. It’ll be very tough but we are confident,” says Ajay and Rohini, the brother-sister duo.

A trail-blazer in his country, Allan is the only sportsperson from Seychelles to have achieved so much in any discipline. He received the best sportsman award from the Seychelles Government consecutively from 2000-2004.

Having trained and sailed with the best in the business, Allan is the best bet for the two, feels Ajay. “He is a thorough professional,” says Ajay.

Smiles Rohini: “I have never raced against my brother. So, it will be interesting to see how I fare (in laser radial).”

A freelance coach, as he likes to describe himself, Allan is one of the coaches at the famous Sail Coach, a facility in France where professional sailors from different parts of the world hone their skills.

Allan, who retired from active sailing after the Beijing Olympics, is not averse to coaching Indian sailors.

“If I get a good deal then I will consider,” says Allan, who at one point was ranked in the top 20 in the world.

Merit finishes 19th line honours out of 100

Merit secures 19th line honours out of 100 boats at the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart. In Division 1 , merit placed 5th .

Leo Rodriguez and crew held it together and were very close in creating a major upset in the overall line honours, when Merit was in 10 th place for a brief period of time during the race. 19th overall is an impressive result for the team. Last year the team won her Division after being granted redress for rescuing sinking Georgia. This year the teams were committed in finishing the race without interruption, but it was clear that if the team were to stumble across another distress signal during the race, merit wouldn’t think twice in leaving the race and going for a rescue again. The Rolex Sydney Hobart is considered the most grueling long ocean race in the world. The first Indian sailor to crew a Sydney Hobart and was part of the 18 member strong crew sailing on merit. ”Team work was the key and all of us made sure we did our jobs to the best of our abilities to make sure that we pushed the boat to the limit, I am fortunate that Leo Rodriguez gave me an opportunity to crew for merit. I am honored to have raced along side and against some of the best sailors in the world. It has been the best racing experience. I would definitely like to continue taking part in this special event”. The Indian Laser sailor added that “ India has not recognized this milestone as it knows little about the Rolex Sydney to Hobart and there isn’t much of a sailing culture in India, The Australian and global media have recognized this landmark and in the future will continue to recognize small milestones like these in the hope that India will eventually adopt the sport like its own. There is lot’s of promise for Sailing in India if the Indian sports industry adopts a marketing strategy similar to Indian cricket. One hopes that sailing will figure in India’s current sports boom. In a couple of years we might see an Indian entry at the Rolex Sydney Hobart.