Ajay Rau Reporting from the first leg of the ISAF Sailing World Cup-Sail Melbourne

22nd December, Ajay Rau of India finished 8th out of 20 in the Laser Radial Men's and 13th overall out of 36 elite sailors who took part in the first leg of the ISAF World cup Sail Melbourne event which was held from the 16th-21st December. Anna TUNNICLIFFE (USA),Beijing gold medalist sailed superbly to win the overall title and the first leg of the ISAF World Cup in the Radial.Australia and Great Britain finished 2nd and 3rd"I am pleased with this result as this is only my first regatta of the new 2008-2009 season and it is a great position to start off the new season racing at the top most of the time and finishing among the top half of the fleet." Says 20 year old Ajay Rau from India.There were 11 races sailed in which Ajay posted 5 top 5 finishes with a best place of 2nd.He narrowly missed out on a top 5 overall in the men's due to a costly mistake resulting in his worst score of the regatta a Disqualification, jumping the start by a second. ".I was really pumped up and the conditions were perfect for my style of sailing and I was just a second or so too early over the line. This cost me as I was confident of posting another top 5 position…. instead I was awarded 21 points.""I kept making minor adjustments as the regatta progressed, which helped me better my finishing positions. This is my first race after nearly 4 months." This is Ajay's best result at an international regatta tor the year 2008 and this is only his first race of the new 08-09 season. To post this result at the first leg of the ISAF world cup is a huge positive as this is not just any international event but a world event which makes it even more special. My goal next year at this event will be to finish on the podium or even win the ISAF WORLD CUP Sail Melbourne 2009Ajay's next event is the prestigious Australian Championships (Perth) "I am really fired up for this one as this is going to be held at the venue of the 2011 world championships which is one of the principle qualifier events for the 2012 Olympic Games." Merry Christmas!

Results Sail Melbourne-ISAF World Cup-first leg

Overall Results - Laser Radial 36 Sailors

	Name	Sail Num	Bow Num	Club /Cty	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total Points	Net Points
1	TUNNICLIFFE, Anna	2050		USA	3	2	1	1	1	1	7	(10)	8	3	6	43	33	Women
2	KING, Gabrielle	3378		AUS	8	(12)	3	2	2	5	4	4	3	4	8	55	43	Women
3	HAUSCHILDT, Klade	2290		AUS	(20)	9	7	5	4	2	5	1	5	2	11	71	51	Men
4	BREWSTER, Andrea	0478		GBR	6	6	2	3	7	8	2	(13)	7	7	4	65	52	Women
5	MIHELIC, Tina	5		CRO	2	3	4	(10)	6	9	1	9	9	6	7	66	56	Women
6	WINTHER, Sara	4947		NZL	4	8	14	6	15	7	3	2	4	5	(37) OCS	105	68	Women
7	YOUNG, Alison	2440		GBR	5	(16)	16	9	11	3	8	7	1	8	1	85	69	Women
8	OLSSON, Josefin	4931		SWE	1	20	(22)	4	5	10	9	8	13	12	2	106	84	Women
9	COLTMAN, Tim	1619		NZL	10	4	23	12	16	4	10	5	(37) BFD	1	5	127	90	Men
10	JONES, Christopher	1887		AUS	(32)	7	15	7	8	14	6	12	2	11	10	124	92	Men
11	POREBSKI, Josh	1618		NZL	12	19	(20)	11	3	13	11	6	10	9	12	126	106	Men
12	MACFARLANE, Jackson	2267		NZL	11	17	13	14	14	(25)	12	16	12	10	13	157	132	Men
13	RAU, Ajay	4964		IND	22	15	11	17	10	12	13	3	11	(37) BFD	19	170	133	Men

Overall Results - Laser Radial Men - 20 sailors

Pl	Name	Sail Num	Bow Num	Club /Cty	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total Points	Net Points
1	HAUSCHILDT, Klade	2290		AUS	(11)	4	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	2	3	29	18
2	JONES, Christopher	1887		AUS	(18)	3	7	2	3	6	2	5	1	5	2	54	36
3	COLTMAN, Tim	1619		NZL	2	1	13	5	8	2	3	3	(21) BFD	1	1	60	39
4	POREBSKI, Josh	1618		NZL	4	(11)	11	4	1	5	4	4	4	3	4	55	44
5	MACFARLANE, Jackson	2267		NZL	3	9	6	7	7	(11)	5	8	6	4	5	71	60
6	LANGFORD, Rohan	0509		AUS	1	6	4	6	4	3	(13)	11	10	10	7	75	62
7	LANGFORD, Mark	0057		AUS	8	2	3	3	(21) BFD	7	8	6	8	8	12	86	65
8	RAU, Ajay	4964		IND	12	8	5	10	5	4	6	2	5	(21) BFD	10	88	67

Sail Melbourne- World Cup event halfway report

16

RAU, Ajay

4964

IND

(22)

15

11

17

10

12

87

65

Men

After six races,I am 8th in the men's and 16th overall out of 35 Sailors. there are 5 races left to complete this regatta.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Fever Grips Melbourne

Sail Melbourne 2008

Melbourne, Australia

Excitement is mounting and tension is building as organizers get ready to kick off the inaugural first leg of the ISAF Sailing World Cup - Sail Melbourne, starting Tuesday 16 December.

The event is sailing’s equivalent to a motor racing Grand Prix or tennis Grand Slam – as part of the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup it is one of seven of the most important and biggest Olympic regattas in the world and the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It is only fitting that as Australia tops the national standings in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings yet again, that an event of this magnitude begins in Melbourne. Jetting in for the event are Beijing Olympic gold medallists Malcolm PAGE (AUS), in the Men’s 470 event, and Anna TUNNICLIFFE (US) in the women’s Laser Radial class. PAGE, 36, is firing up for his first major hit out with his new 470 skipper Mat BELCHER (AUS), following the retirement of his gold medal winning partner Nathan WILMOT (AUS). TUNNICLIFFE, one of the superstars of world sailing, is here to begin her campaign for back-to-back gold in London 2012. Australian head coach Victor KOVALENKO is the inaugural Sail Melbourne ambassador and will be wandering the boat park helping out sailors as requested. This event is compulsory for Australian Sailing Team development squad members and is the highlight event on the Victoria Sailing Calendar. The first event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup will be held at Sandringham Yacht Club from 16-21 December. ISAF Sailing World Cup The ISAF Sailing World Cup 2008-2009 consists of the following events: 16-21 Dec 2008 - Sail Melbourne The Asia Pacific Regatta, Melbourne, Australia 25-31 Jan 2009 - Rolex Miami OCR, Miami, USA 4-10 April 2009 - Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE, Palma, Spain 18-24 April 2009 - Semaine Olympique Francaise, Hyeres, France 27-31 May 2009 - Delta Lloyd Regatta, Medemblik, Netherlands 20-28 June 2009 - Kieler Woche, Kiel, Germany 14-19 Sept 2009 - Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth, Great Britain

Sail For Gold -was a no GO!

Melbourne is famous for its winds but the coast hasn't seen such bad weather in a very long time,some people have said its the worst weather they have seen in Melbourne in their life time.3 races were sailed ,I only raced one race finishing 4th. I opted out of the second race as conditions were becoming very nasty.I came back on land and my brad new bottom mast had bet like a banana.It was horrible wet ad extremely windy conditions with huge waves.today most people opted out from the only race sailed,to keep their gear intact for the ISAF WORLD CUP starting on the 16th.I did the same already suffering bottom section damage from just the one race i sailed,so I have transported my boat to the world cup venue.tomorrow Sail Melbourne will Officially begin with all the paper work and measurements.

Sail For GOLD! Count Down is over Tour Down Under to start tomorrow

arrived in Melbourne late on 10th night.I got my spanking new boat yesterday.Today went out for my first sail ,everything looks set and ready.The tour down under starts tomorrow,The warm up regatta (Sail For Gold) for World Cup series event Sail Melbourne.This is the 20th year of the sail for gold regatta which is always hosted by the Black rock Yacht club.7 races are expected to be sailed in two days with an early 1030 am warning signal.This is my first event of the new 2008-2009 season in the radial class.

Ajay Rau for Australia & New Zealand 08-09 Tour-Sailing

Ajay Rau has confirmed his participation at the 60 day tour, where he will be racing in six ISAF events spread across Melbourne, Perth (Australia), Auckland and New Plymouth (New Zealand). Ajay's first port of call will be the prestigious Sail Melbourne and Sail For Gold Regatta (Melbourne) in December this year. International and Olympic sailors from all over the world will converge on Melbourne for the first leg of the (ISAF) World Cup series from– December 16-21. Ajay has prepared well for this tour, putting in many hours both at home and abroad. He has just returned from the Island of Embiez (France) on 2nd December from a 40 day training Camp. This island is home to 08 Olympic silver medal success and award wining SailCoach (Coaching Company). Watch out for this youngster. He is among the fast moving youngsters from the Asian Region on the Laser International Scene He is scheduled to leave from Chennai International Airport on the night of 8th December.

Training report on the last few weeks I spent on SailCoach Island

These last few weeks have been the best training I have experienced in my short sailing carrier. The Island had 1 sailor from Malta who stayed an extra week after the rest (4 member team) had gone back to Malta. There were 3 sailors from the national squad who made their way to the Island. We also had 1 sailor from Italy and Switzerland who joined the training group. With a total of 1 sailors from (SUI.MLT,IND),2 sailors from (ITA),4 sailors from (LTU),which adds up to 9 sailors training hard together. For these two weeks we had great on water coaching from the managing director of Sailcoach- Trevor.This was the first time he took up a coaching assignment after the Beijing Olympics where he was very successful coaching vassilij (SLO) who got his second Olympic medal (this time an improvement from Athens), silver. He set up some very challenging training exercises where we did allot of small and long course sailing, along with boat handling and very exciting race training which was aimed at bring out our best racing skills and more importantly get us all prepared for upcoming regattas where practice races are very important. This was a rare and unique opportunity where the whole team benefited from this experience The Last week saw a lot of new sailors come on the Island. There were a few sailing stars on the Island from Belgium and Ireland.1 sailor from (IND,ITA,LTU ,SUI,BEL) and 4 sailors from the Irish National Squad. 9 sailors in total again. We had Philip former Olympic and Belgium head coach along with former Olympian and Irish high performance coach Rory. There was always different training everyday which kept us on our toes all the time. The variety of exercises we did was quite a lot. I enjoyed the last day where we had a best of 3 team racing competition which our team lost by default. We should have won it! :) There was a great mix of weather conditions along with some extremes. There were the odd days which were not sailable with no winds and extremely heavy winds (50 + knots. On the Island ….on the very small Mountain 114 knots was recorded).as the days went by it became colder for me coming close to December. Off water fitness was steeped up a gear. Training became longer and harder. On a whole I am very privileged to have had this opportunity to train with Sail Coach again this winter as I have learnt a lot and it has helped me shape up very well for the new 2009 Sailing season. I arrived in Chennai on the 2nd of December; I am at home for a very short while. I will be training with ramji and doing a lot of work towards planning my 2009 season as I leave to Melbourne on the 8th of December, coming Monday. These are the last few days before I leave to for the series Down Under (Australia and New Zealand). I am already missing Embiez (France),I hope to join the team again soon!

Midway Report from SailCoach Training Academy

I am almost half way through my Training camp. Sailing the Radial has been a new and challenging experience so far especially in light winds. I have been training under long time “SailCoach” coach Giedrius who just came back from fresh from a coaching assignment from Beijing 2008 where he looked after Allen Julie (Seychelles),who was racing his fourth Olympics.Giedrus will be leaving on the 9th of November back home to Lithuania. .I have a long way to go but I am heading in the right direction this is one of those sports were it takes a lot of time and effort to be a top class International sailor. I have been sailing quite a lot, working on boat handling and technique and we have had a lot of small practice races with video analysis. The weather has been different everyday a very strange mix, I am still finding it hard to cope with the weather but getting used to it .have been doing a lot of exercise and gym work but the last week have been feeling very tired so have been focusing hard on the sailing sessions We have had a lot of activity so far as mentioned in my earlier report but at the moment there are 3 boys and 2 girls from Malta and 1 from Italy and Lithuania, over the next couple of weeks it looks like we are going to have 3 sailors from the Lithuania National squad,1 Swiss sailor and the 5 sailors from the Irish Sailing Academy. The Next 20 days or so I am going to use what I have leant and prepare for my upcoming down under series in Australia and New Zealand.

PRESS RELEASE

RMYC's Rohini Rau is part of India's First Women's Match Racing (Yachting) Team. They are also the winners of the Asian Regional finals and will be competing in Brazil in March 2009 among the top 10 countries of the World for the Grand Finals of the Nations Cup. In the just concluded Regional Finals they completely decimated Thailand's Men's Team! They have the potential to win medals for India. They have been selected to compete in the Busan Cup Match Race Immediately. In fact from October 28th to November 2, 2008. This has the distinction of being the First Women's World Class Match Race in Asia in Busan, South Korea. Only 12 of the World's best teams have been invited to compete and this is the first time the Indian Women's Team will be competing outside India.Women's Match Racing is part of the Asian Games and the Olympics. They Race in huge 24 feet Yachts. This is a very spectator friendly Regatta as they compete only 2 Yachts at a time, but in Busan they will be racing 37 foot long yachts! http://www.bsaf.or.kr/event_eng/event_07.htm This url will take you to the site which will show you photographs of the yacht they will be sailing in in Busan, South Korea. This is an ISAF Grade 1 event. All the best teams from the world are going to be competing there...France (The Number 1 World Champions), Australia (World Number 3), USA, Denmark, Japan to name a few. In fact this is a Women's match Racing World Championship. The first of its kind to be held in Asia! Our Women's team have just won the Gold for the Asian Region at the just concluded Regional Finals of the Nations Cup held in Mumbai. This was an ISAF Grade 2 international event. Rohini has the distinction of being the National Women's Laser Radial Champion, the National Women's 420 Champion and now she is part of the First Woman's Match Racing Team. She is the only World Ranked Indian Woman sailor. Rohini will be leaving for Busan on the 23rd of October.

Ajay Rau Trains with Sailcoach

I arrived at Marseille (France) yesterday, to Train at the SailCoach Academy. The Training camp is scheduled from the 22nd of October till the 1st of December. the Month Of October have allot of Sailors training at the academy 6 from Ireland,4 from Ploand,2 from France,2 from Belgium and 1 from India,Norway,Lithunia and Italy. I will be under a strict regime with the supervision of his coaches helping him improve his Sailing, Fitness, Tactics and Attitude This is my 5th time at the SailCoach Sail base I am on a campaign for the 2012 Olympic games in the laser class,SaiCoach is the coaching company which helped Vasellij Zobogar (Slo) win 04 bronze (Athens) and 08 Silver (Beijing) medals at the Olympic Games. This is part of my preparations for the next season.

Ajay shifts his Focus to the Laser Radial Class

Ajay Rau Laser Radial Campaign Training with SailCoach at the Sail base Embiez (FRA) 22/10/2008-31/11/2008 Down Under Series 2008-2009 Go for Gold Regatta Melbourne (AUS) 12/12/2008-14/12/2008 SailMelbourne The Asia Pacific Regatta World cup series event (AUS) 16/12/2008-21/12/2008 Australian Laser Championships 27/12/2008-5/01/2009 Perth (AUS) Laser Asia Pacific Championships 12/01/2009-16/01/2009 Perth (AUS) New zealand Laser Championships New Plymouth (NZL) 23/01/2009 -27/01/2009 Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland Auckland (NZL) 05/02/2009 08/02/2009

Ajay rau has confirmed he will take part in the Inaugural Event Of The ISAF Sailing Worldcup

I have Confirmed that I will be taking part in the inaugural event of the ISAF sailing Worldcup which will kick start from the 16th Of December to the 21st Off the coast of Melbourne. Sailmelbourne has been Officially been named the first event of the new sailing worldcup.The ISAF sailing worldcup series will give a platform for the sailors to prepare and put together their campaigns for the 2012 Olympic games .All possible arrangements have been made with limited resources to prepare for this mega event to ensure to bring back a good result at this inaugural event.Plans are in place to take part in the Downunder series which are a series of events held in Australia and Newzealand which include the sailmelbourne event. A list of confirmed participation in other events is yet to be finalised,more information will be made available soon

started sailing but having a bit of down time

Training had been going very well with some sailing,gym,boxing,running.etc generally allot of activity.On Monday I woke up very unwell which happens very rarely to me and ever since then I have been taking it easy to try and recover from this flu which seems to have hit a majority of people in the city.I hope to get back into action tomorrow as i am not built to be stuck sick at home all day . It has been really enjoyable to get back on to the water...I have always enjoyed sailing at home although after the tsunami the club has struggled over the years to get back on its feet but the club is getting back some of its old charm ...I had the privilege of sailing a club race this Sunday in an Enti against a few of the die hard sailors from the Royal madras Yacht club. I am feeling very confident that my next sailing season is going to bring out allot of positives towards my goals.This week so far although I have had allot Of Down time and I feel most outcomes have been going against me in the last couple of weeks,I believe "when the going gets though! the though gets going". These are some of the last days at home I am going to enjoy before starting my Official preparation for the new season and more Importantly moving my base to Sydney later in February next year.Even though is has just been four days of down time (flue),I am really itching to get back into action and prepare for the countless challenges ahead. I Hope everyone is healthy and well.Take care and you will be hearing from me soon

Mittal Champions Trust presented 1.5 crore to Bindra

Delhi: 10th September 2008Abhinav Bindra, the current World and Olympic champion in the 10m Air Rifle event, was honored by the Mittal Champions Trust today, at the Oberoi Hotel, Delhi. Mr. Amit Bhatia, Trustee of the Mittals Champions Trust presented a cash award of Rs 1.5 crores to the Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra.During the felicitation, Mr. Amit Bhatia said, “Abhinav has created history for our country and we are extremely proud of his achievement. We hope that he serves as an example for the many future champions who work hard towards their goals. We are committed to the Trust's ethos to groom India's most talented athletes for London 2012 and Abhinav's accomplishments have encouraged us in our mission. We congratulate Abhinav and all the other athletes that made our nation proud, and gave us our best Olympic result. He and all others deserve the recognition and accolades that crown their achievement.”Expressing happiness over the splendid performance of Bindra, Indian tennis ace and Trustee of the Mittal Champions Trust, Mahesh Bhupathi said,’’ "Having seen first hand the work and commitment Abhinav has put in he deserves all the accolades. We are extremely proud of him and are looking forward to seeing atop many more podia in the future." The Mittal Champions Trust supports and funds talented sportspersons and potential Olympic medal winners to enable them to access the best specialists in the world. Their mandate is to take care of the needs of future champions, so that they can compete with the best in the world on a level playing field. The trust was set up by steel magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal with the sole objective of promoting excellence in sports in India. At present, the trust is supporting athletes in squash, archery, boxing, shooting, swimming, athletics and sailing.

Extreme Fitness Training with the best

Ramji has been making it a point to have on most days 3 hardcore sessions a day. exercises have been branched out in the form of 1 hr running, running on the beach, 5 k run , Beach and out door running etc...sometimes at the MRF pace foundation which is a body which help grooms India's fast and fit pace bowlers of the future. there has been spinning sessions on the bike, rowing on the machine...but the most challenging yet is allot of boxing which is one of the though work outs. I have also been working on exercises for the stomach ,back and basic gym exercises. Laser Sailing is a very Physical sport and a good cardio tresh hold is necessary to keep fit, there is no time to relax, always looking to improve fitness everyday for the past 1 and a half weeks, I have had the privilege of working along side India's motor sport Icons Narian and Arman.We have been pushing each other and enjoying our workouts , it is fantastic to be working along side the best fitness trainer in the country and in addition along these drivers who are truly champions and class in their field

back Home.....I have been training both on and off the water preparing for the next season

I have been doing some sailing ( Had a domestic competition at home ), took part even though I was sore and bruised from my 10 month long International season and as it was at home there is no better practice than racing in a championship. I sailed very well for most of the time but overall wasn't happy with my sailing at all..it was good confidence boost to know that i still managed to put up a decent show even though i wasn't sailing well. On the other hand It was a Failure as i was definitely One of the sailors who underperformed and should have finished at least 1st or 2nd.I represented the Royal Madras Yacht club which gave me fantastic support during the regatta, in a weeks time the club is turning 101 years old ...I am so proud to be associated with such a celebrated club which has a great legacy ,history and values which are still practised today I have been doing allot of running,cycling,boxing,gym etc along with my good friend Arman who is India's probable in formula 1 under the instruction of my very dedicated Fitness coach and Mentor Ramji. I am so fortunate to be working with such dedicated people. Its gives you great Motivation and determination to just carry on regardless and work with what you have got and just blocks your mind away from all the countless problems.I also hope to do a bit of windsurfing as it is fun and a very good work out

Vasilij Zobegar wins Silver,Sailcoach team does well at Bejing 2008

I was so happy to hear that Vasilij of Slovenia won the silver medal at the Olympics, It is a insane effort to do one better than Athens but just to be in the games is special in itself to every sailor to win a medal is beyond imagination for most of the sailors as anything can happen and you can never be 100% sure what the outcome is going to be. Allen Julie a 4 time Olympian is one of the only sailors in the laser class to have taken part at the Olympics for 16 years ,which in itself is a great achievement. I am so proud to know these Individuals and to have worked,trained and lived with them while I was in Sail Coach.Trevor and sunny both the coaches for the guys at the games work day in and day out for special moments like these. I hope to see you soon Trevor ....enjoy the moment! Cheers all round

Great to be back home

I am really happy to be back home, it has been ten months of hard sailing on the international arena during an Olympic year . there have been many a first this season, I represented India in my first Senior World and European Championships.The Worlds was an Olympic Qualification Event.I have taken part in over 15 top international events this year were the level of competition has been nothing but the best , a great learning experience and preparation for my 2012 Olympic campaign . I have taken part in events spread across India,Australia,Spain,France ,Italy,Denmark Germany and Belgium. The experience of traveling,living and racing with athletes going to the Olympic games and being part of the Olympic sailing movement has even made me more focused and determined towards my Goals and Ambitions in laser sailing. I have had an extremely limited budget for the 2008 season,but still grateful for the association and little support I have received from the Amm foundation , Sports Development Authority Of Tamil Nadu and Mittal Champions Trust. I am fortunate to have been associated with Sail coach (www.sailcoach.com) from February to August 2008 while I was competing in Australia and Europe.I am also honoured to be associated with the Royal Madras Yacht Club It is great to be home with my family.I will be following this years Olympics at Qingdao,hoping to make the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth.

Results of the European Laser Standard Youth Championship 2008

Chennai Aug 05, The U21 European championship held at FRANCE, Douarnenez came to an end on the 1st of august, marking an end to my European season. I finished 102 overall . there were 130 entries split into two fleets of 65 boats.Two races were sailed each day except for the one day due to lack of wind. The first four days were the heats while the last two days were the finals.conditions during the regatta ranged from 4 to 20 knots ,unstable and shifty winds (offshore)with strong tide majority of the regatta.I finished 37th overall in the silver fleet.Here are my results from each race. 102 IND 193079 37 silver fleet RAU Ajay (M1988) 54,43,60,56,BFD65,13,54,43,24,24 India Results 1 SWE 189020 STULHEIM Jesper (M1988) 2 GER 188447 BUHL Philipp (M1989) 3 AUS 191644 BURMAN James (M1989) 4 GBR 192656 GODWIN Robert (M1988) 5 FRA 179757 GELLEE Jean-Baptiste (M1988)

European Laser Standard Youth Championship 2008

With my first Laser Senior European Championship finished, I am on my to take part in the European Laser Standard Youth Championship 2008 FRANCE ( Douarnenezed). The Regatta starts on Fri 25th July 2008 - Fri 1st August 2008. This will be my Last regatta in Europe marking an end to my European 2008 tour and My two year Olympic Laser class Circuit. There are 132 entries from 25 countries confirmed to take part in this years Youth European Championship. This my third and Last Youth European Championship. I Finished 52nd (silver fleet Gydnia Poland 06) and 99 (Heyeres France 07) at the Last two Editions. The Entry list comprise of few top International U21 sailors ( Australia,Brazil,India,New Zealand and USA) and top U21 sailors across Europe.The give you an Idea of the level of these championships some of the sailors have taken part in a Youth World championships (U 18) including this years Youth Worlds which took place in Denmark a few days ago. I represented India at the 2006 Volvo Youth Worlds Weymouth (GBR) , host of the 2012 Olympic sailing competition . I am India's Only sailor entered at these championships . I have been India's top U21 sailor for the past three years.This Event will also be my last U21 International Laser event.

SLINGSBY And MULTALA Triumph At Laser Europeans

Laser and Laser Radial European Championships 2008 Nieuwpoort, Belgium Australia's Tom SLINGSBY and Sari MULTALA of Finland took the titles at the ISAF Grade C1 Laser and Laser Radial Europeans in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. Tom SLINGSBY (AUS), two-time and reigning Laser World Champion has a five point overall lead after four bullets from six races so far. Paul GOODISON (GBR) lies in second place just one point ahead of Athens Olympic bronze medallist Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO).Like SLINGSBY, Sari MULTALA (FIN) also has four bullets from six races in the Laser Radial fleet. She leads local favourite Evi VAN ACKER (BEL) by seven points, with Katarzyna SZOTYNSKA (POL) in third. Paul GOODISON (GBR) finished second behind Tom SLINGSBY (AUS) in the Laser standings and top European finisher, winning the Laser European Championship title for the fourth year in a row.Winds over 25 knots and huge waves resulted in the abandonment of the final day of racing in Nieuwpoort. This gave SLINGSBY, the reigning World Champion and #1 in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, the Laser title by eight points. SLINGSBY scored five bullets during the ten-race series to win by eight points, a perfect send off before he heads to Qingdao, China where he will represent Australia at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition. GOODISON came in second, whilst Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO) completed the top three.In the women’s Laser Radial fleet, Sari MULTALA (FIN) recorded six bullets and led from start to finish. She was pushed all the way by Sophie DE TURCKHEIM (FRA), whose two bullets on Friday brought her to within three points of the Finnish leader, and ultimately earned her second place overall. Evi VAN ACKER (BEL), the 2006 and 2007 European Champion, finished third overall.

My Final Results of the 2008 European Championship

Day 4 and 5 was very windy with lots of current and waves , very difficult sailing All races planned for the last day have been cancelled due to bad wheather conditions. In the morning an average wind of 23kn was measured close to the shore line with rather steep waves as the current is going in the opposite direction of the wind. For the afternoon a wind of 28kn to 30kn had been forecasted. This meant that the European Championship was over by the day 5 of the championships. These are my results . I finished 138 overall and 41 in the bronze fleet there were 48 boats in each fleet and a total of 146 boats the 2008 European Championship 2008 IND 193079 Rau Ajay 313.0 41 38 39 40 (42) (46) 41 37 37 40

Laser and Laser Radial European Championships 2008

Laser and Laser Radial European Championships 2008 Nieuwpoort, Belgium The leaders remain unchaged after three days of racing at the ISAF Grade C1 Laser and Laser Radial Europeans in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, with Tom SLINGSBY and Sara MULTALA dominant in the top spots. Tom SLINGSBY (AUS), two-time and reigning Laser World Champion has a five point overall lead after four bullets from six races so far. Paul GOODISON (GBR) lies in second place just one point ahead of Athens Olympic bronze medallist Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO).Like SLINGSBY, Sari MULTALA (FIN) also has four bullets from six races in the Laser Radial fleet. She leads local favourite Evi VAN ACKER (BEL) by seven points, with Katarzyna SZOTYNSKA (POL) in third.

Results after six races European Championship 2008

After four Races this is my overall position with my results from each race 123 IND 193079 Ajay Rau 41.0 38.0 39.0 40.0 The first day of racing was a heavy 15-20 + knots and the second day the wind was lighter (15 knots max). I am happy with my sailing , I feel good on the boat , there are many mistakes but this is a very high level fleet and so far i am happy with my performance. Today wind was light 5 -7 knots and dropped 12 places in the overall standings 135 IND 193079 Ajay Rau 42.0 46.0

SLINGSBY And MULTALA Lead After Opening Day At Laser Europeans

Laser and Laser Radial European Championships 2008 Nieuwpoort, Belgium Tom SLINGSBY (AUS) and Sara MULTALA (FIN) both got off to perfect starts on day one of the ISAF Grade C1 Laser and Laser Radial Europeans in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. During the first day of the regatta two races were held in nice weather conditions with a westerly wind of 14 to 18 knots. The first race went smoothly, whilst the second was marred by a series of general recalls.With over 100 boats event in both Laser and Laser Radial events, the start of the series is being sailed in split fleets. World Champion and world #1 Tom SLINGSBY (AUS) won both his races in the Laser fleet to take the overall lead ahead of Michael LEIGH (CAN) and Paul GOODISON (GBR). Similarly, Sari MULTALA (FIN) won both the races in the Laser Radial fleet and leads ahead of Sophie DE TURCKHEIM (FRA) and Evi VAN ACKER (BEL).

Euro 08 Races start tomorrow

Registration and Measurements have been completed and racing will start tomorrow at 1 o'clock for the laser class.I am being looked after by Sailcoach . My Coach will be Sunny (LTU). My team mates are Allen (SEY),Vaseliji(SLO),Ryan(IRL) and Laurynas (LTU).With the Olympics so close i am privileged to be working with the 4 time Olympian from Seychelles and the Olympic bronze medalist from Slovenia.This Years European Championship , for very few European Countries is the last selection process for the 2008 Olympic games

2008 Laser Euros Officially began at 2 oclock Today

Here in New port the 2008 European Championships officially began at 2 o'clock with measurements under way , at the moment there are 150 athletes from 37 countries registered. I have been training hard everyday.apart from a day i had an upset tummy .There has been mix conditions ( light winds,medium and heavy <28>). As this is a top level event, there is no surprise that Practicing with all these Sailors has been exciting and allot of hard work. the practice sessions out here remind me of the practice sessions we had before my first senior world championship this year. there are two days left for the 2008 European Championship to start

Belgium (Newport)-2008 European championship

I will be training at the venue for 10 days with the Sail Coach Team. Many Sailors have already made their way over here to prepare for Europe's best event, The European Championship.click this message or the picture on the right to visit the event Website.

Results Keil Woche 2008....almost time for the laser euro 08 (Belgium)

The Regatta lived up to Expectations as one of the challenging regattas of the Year. There were 11 races sailed over a span of 5 days. Wind speeds varied from 5 to 20 knots, although most of the time it was above 15 knots with big waves. Conditions were a test for all the sailors in the laser class were there were 156 entries from over 50 nations, Olympians fighting for top Honors and the yellow jersey or some just aiming to finish the best possible position. I finished 31st out of 53 lasers in the Bronze Fleet. In the 11 races, I finished with a best position of 6th. Here are the results in sequence Ajay Rau IND 193079 : 50 ,51 , 42 , 47 , 39 , 36 , 30 , BFD , 20 , 6 , BFD . I finished 136 overall. 12 nations finished in the top 15 overall standing showing how competitive the regatta was. Australia’s Thomas Slingsby (07, 08 world champion) won the Regatta almost effortlessly, he wore the Yellow jersey for 4 days out of the 5 days of competition dominating the Regatta. Gustavo Lima of Portugal finished a well deserved second place; he was the only other sailor who had worn the Yellow jersey after day one of the regatta. Michael Leigh of Canada came in third place After the regatta it was time to pack up and hit the Road. With the Euro 2008 Football Championships coming to a close in Austria and Switzerland, there is now hardly any time left for the Laser Euro 08 Championships (Belgium), I will be training and preparing here for a few days before taking part in the 2008 European Championships in Newport Belgium. 45 European and Non European countries have entered for the Euro 08 Championships. 150 of the best sailors from Europe and other visiting countries will make their way for this restricted event, I will be the Only Indian at these championships. This is the last big competition for the laser class before the Olympics. The European championships is the closest you can get to an atmosphere and level of a world championship, It is an honor to represent India at these Championships. This is my First Senior European Championship ,India has a lot to catch up in Laser sailing and this is an important learning curve and stepping stone towards my 2012 Olympic sailing campaign.

Kieler Woche 2008 Website

Visit the Kieler Woche website and see what it is all about . There are 168 Entries in the laser Olympic class. To view results and information on Kieler Woche 2008 click this link .

Today it is to windy to Train

Today weather conditions are very rough, do not want to break any equipment before the regatta . the wind speed is 20 knots gusting to 40.Had spotted Robert Shiedt (Brazil) , He is a living legend ,still an active Olympian ( on his way to China to try and win the gold medal in the star class). From 1996 to 2004 he has won two Golds and One silver on the trot in the Laser class. All sailors except a few who can afford to practice in this weather are taking a day of due to the horrible weather. Tomorrow Registration starts for the Kieler Woche 2008

European Tour 2008 Half way Report

Sailing: Half way through Laser European tour 08 Report Kiel (Germany): The Month of June has been busy for Ajay Rau. He placed 42nd at the Italian Olympic Championship (Venice) and at the Denmark Europa cup (Aabenraa) placed 25th.He managed to secure his best Indvidual placing in a race in Europe narrowly missing the Podium finishing 4th.It was a Positive result being an Olympic year and competing with World class sailors (few Olympic sailors 08 and hopefuls) from UAE,Turkey,Germany,Denmark,Sweden,Norway,Finland,Italy,Slovenia,France,Great Britan and Ireland . Ajay Rau is at Kiel (GER) for the Kieler Woche 2008 the Biggest Regatta for Olympic classes. It is an ISAF grade 1 and a World Cup event. It has attracted over 60 Countries and Most of the sailors who are taking part at the Olympic Games. With fewer than 50 days left to the Olympics allot is at stake as it is one of the last major events before the Olympics. The entry list in the Laser class has 160-180 entries. The competition will kick start on Tuesday with Official registration and measurement followed by the Qualifying races starting on the Wednesday. This will be Ajay's third time at this Historic venue, He is the Only Indian confirmed at the grade 1 event. Ajay has been a Full time sailor for two years with his limited experience he took part in the 2008 World championships in Sydney (Qualifier 2008 Olympics) and is Campaigning for the 2012 Olympics. He has had invaluable support from the Royal Madras Yacht Club, currently sponsored by the AMM foundation, Sports Development Authority Of Tamil Nadu and the Mittal Champions Trust

Training report at Keil 2008

At Kiel It has been Very Windy all week except for today for most part of the day it was finally a relief to get in some medium wind training 2 days before the Olympic Invited classes Kiel Woche Regatta 2008 starts. the weather is warmer than Denmark...in fact sometimes it can get very hot.In Kiel the weather can change in seconds from a lovely day to a very dark and cold day, in fact just now we had a huge shower , That almost brought down the Registration Office tent down and now it has transformed into a beautiful summers day. I have Been Training with allot of good sailors. today there were at least 60 lasers on the water training at the same time. This event is going to be the biggest ISAF grade 1 event in 2008 and just with 50 days to the Olympic games to start ,most sailors who are not at the Olympic sailing village in china at the moment are here getting mentally prepared for the games. This is a great opportunity for me to be in such a high level regatta and I have only been sailing professionally for 2 years , I am here with no pressure,have nothing to loose this is my third Kiel woche and there are about 160 registered sailors at this event , most of the best laser sailors across the globe. There are about 60 to 70 Nations at this event. At the moment,I am the only Indian representative at this event. I was glad to Hear that Hussian won the gold In an International optimist regatta held in Bahrain, he is Hamza's Brother (My team mate in the 420s back in the day).the whole family are very close friends and we are all extremely happy for Hussain. I will be training tomorrow and will be preparing for the event which starts on Wednesday.I have been very busy and there is no Internet connection at home .........will do my best to keep you updated.

Training at Keil for KeilWoche 2008

Sorry, I haven't been on the Internet for a while.Had a short Journey from Aabenraa to Keil. Rested for 2 days , I have resumed my training on the water. I am training at keil The venue of the Keil woche 2008. The Sail Coach Team for this KeilWoche 2008 Is Ryan seaton (IRL), Ajay Rau (IND) and Sunny (LTU) will be the coach. We will Be training our boat handling Skills and practicing with some of the worlds best sailors across the globe. My friend Adil (UAE) was awarded a wild card to the 2008 Olympics. It Is a great moment for him. Trevor (IRL) at the moment is at China (Qingdao) coaching the rest of the sailcoach team. 2004 Bronze Medalist Zobagar (SLO) , Allen Julie (SEY) and Adil (UAE). More Updates will be posted soon ........

Results after eight Races

Aabenraa Europa cup came to a close today with all eight races sailed in the past four days.the conditions on the race course was amazing with heavy winds every day,in spite of the wind shifting constantly the race committee still managed to host all the eight races without any major hiccups! Here are my results from races 4 to 8 . {4 ,22, 28 and 28}. I finished 25th overall. The winner of the Denmark Europa cup was jesper from Sweden and the winner of the Radial was John from Great Britain . Tomorrow I start my journey back to Germany , we will be going to Keil to take part in one of the best Annual regattas in Europe The Olympic class Keil Woche 2008. This event was my first International event back in 2006,This will be the third time I have come to do this regatta

Results after four races

the wind still continues to come from the shore,very unpredictable winds ,always shifting in big angles . It is similar to a lake , the wind speed is also always unsteady but mostly the past two days have been a mix of light ,but majority of the time very windy.At this point Jasper from Sweden is coming first overall.I am now in 28th overall out of 32 boats . my results so far in the four races in order: 30 29 20 23

Aabenraa Europa Cup is open for Registration

Today the Weather again was unsuitable for sailing,The Aabenraa Europa Cup of Denmark has started today at 1700 hrs with the Regatta Office Open for Registration till 1030 tomorrow morning,the event is a four day series with 2 to 3 races a day.Hopefully the conditions will be good for sailing starting tomorrow.I will be entered for the Men/U21 titles. Sailors form Norway and Sweden were seen at the boat part anxious to get into the water.to follow the event just click this message and it will direct you to the Europa cup website

Training at Aabenraa Host of Denmark Europa cup 2008

After our long journey from Italy we have finally managed to find permanent accommodation and got everything sorted here in Aabenraa (Denmark).We started training on Monday,launching from the club which will be hosting the Europa cup. So far we have had two good sessions on the water. At the moment our third session has been put back to a later time as there is allot of wind at the moment. The weather is very nice when the sun is out but in a day the weather can change to being quite cool (whether it is shine or not everyone sails with a hot top) and this is peak summer time for this side of the world. The conditions out at the bay is very similar to sailing on a lake, at the moment the direction of the wind is coming from land. we have had a healthy combination of light and medium heavy winds.....we have come to a decision and decided it is to windy for a sail (Mast and back breaking conditions)with allot of gusts and shifts in just two sessions. The Sail Coach team for this Regatta is Ben(IRL),Michele(ITA),Adil(UAE) and Ajay(IND) , Trevor is our Coach.Tomorrow the registration process will be complete and the following day our first race of the Europa cup will start.

Finally reached Denmark and my visit to Århus host of the ISAF Youth Worlds

Finally after 3 days of traveling we have reached Denmark (Aabeneraa). From Venice we have driven across Italy, Austria, Germany and finally Denmark. Aabeneraa is this year’s home to Denmark’s ISAF Europa cup. There is a lot of Excitement around Europe as Austria and Switzerland are Co hosting this years UEAFA European Championship (Football). It is warm and Beautiful a lot of sporting activities around Europe and a lot of sailing as well. In Denmark sailing is popular with many harbors and sailing clubs across the seashore. It is home to world famous sailing legend Paul ELVSTROM. Denmark has a great record and a legacy with the Olympic sailing competition. Yesterday I had the chance to visit Århus. The 38th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship is being hosted by Århus, Denmark in the Bay of Århus. The event will be organized by Sailing Aarhus in close cooperation with the Danish Sailing Association, ISAF and the City of Århus, represented by Sport Århus Events The Only Youth sailing world championship I have done was back in 2006 which were hosted by the Weymouth Portland Sailing Academy, United Kingdom (venue of the 2012 Olympic sailing competition). It wasn’t only my third International regatta but it played a huge part towards my attempt to Qualify for the 2012 Olympic sailing competition. India has one entry in the girls laser radial, my team mate and few friends have been selected to represent their countries and more later……………... For now I am staying with Trevor and Michele. The place is expensive but there is lovely warm weather .We are going to start training tomorrow to prepare for the Europa cup of Denmark

Sailor ahoy!

Check out the online edition of this Article on me from the nxg http://www.go-nxg.com/?p=1020

CICO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS VENIZE (ITALY)

Sorry I have not been updating for a while, I have not had internet access… I left Chennai on the 27th of May to resume my campaign towards the 2012 Olympic Games. I have planned to do Regattas in Italy, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and France. There are various events like, International events (ISAF), Europa cups and European Championships (also U21) etc I am joining the sail coach team for a 2 month stint in Europe. Racing at these regattas will help me grow in experience being an Olympic year; all the sailors going for the 2008 Olympic Games will be in top form making it an Ideal platform for me to build on once I get through this experience towards my future campaigns. In Chennai I was working out under the instruction of Ramji Srinavas. I was working out along with my Friend and Training partner Arman and sometimes with the boys from the MRF Pace Foundation. We worked out outdoors and at the gym (Fitness One). Every day was a different kind of work out. I raced the Italian Olympic National Championship at Venice (Italy). There many national Olympic nationals in different kinds of boats ( laser M/F,Rsx M/F,470 M/F, Finn,Tornado,49r,Star )It was held from the 31st May to 3rd June . The location of the regatta was of a beautiful Sandy Beach of Venice city. The Temperature was shocking; it was hot and humid almost like a day in Mumbai all through. This had resulted in the championship being held in Light winds through out (7 knots and below) .It was an Ideal light wind regatta, competition was of a good standard as the results were never really constant for most sailors except the top contenders. Italy had a surprise new National Champion , Cerni and Romero was unofficially given the right to represent Italy at the Olympic Games. There were 65 lasers on the water. The regatta was a good warm up for the rest of the European season.Only seven out of eight races could be held with one discard . Michele (ITA) , My Team mate finished his best position in an Italian National Championship in 24th place .Here are the results 1 ITA 190335 CERNI PIETRO 2 4 1 4 11 1 5 17 2 ITA 189107 ROMERO PASCHETTA DIEGO 6 7 15 2 3 2 4 24 3 ITA 192582 BOTTOLI GIACOMO 4 6 3 8 2 3 6 24 42 IND 193079 RAU AJAY 32 47* 40 32 DNF 50 23 230 At the moment I am leaving Venice tomorrow morning for a long journey to Denmark for the Europa cup

Back at Home

I am back in madras , i have been here from the 19th . I will be going back to europe to continue my 2012 Olympic campaign on the 29th of may. while i am here i am i have to keep fit.I am working with Ramji with a minimum of two sessions a day.workouts will be genrally based at the MRF Pace foundation and the Fitness one gym.I wll also try to do various Excersises to make keeping fit fun,ie Boxing,runing on the beach,Bike riding , swiming etc. will be spending time with my family and close friends before resuming my planned european season

2008 Olympic selection trials report

19th May 2008, The 2008 Olympic Trials came to an end yesterday. Selection trials were held in two classes, single handed Laser (men) and the single handed heavy weight dinghy Finn (men). Rajesh Choudhary (Army Yachting Node) showed his class and won the trials in the Laser. Out of the 11 races sailed he won eight races, with a 24 point gap between Rout who finished second. However the gap between the second boat and the fifth boat was hardly a seven point difference which tells you how competitive the racing was. I was the only civilian entry at these trials from the Royal Madras Yacht Club. I had a below average regatta. The winds were light and shifty and it was important not to make mistakes at crucial points. But I managed to make many mistakes which ensured me a sixth overall position at these trials. Every sports person goes through a dip in performance and this is a phase where I will be working hard to get rid off to get back on top form. Johal (Army Yachting Node) won the Finn trials. Sailors Johal and Nitin kept it till the last race to decide the winner. Johal made an amazing come back to win the last three races in a do or die situation for him to win the trials. The Finn class missed qualifying for an Olympic spot by one country in the 2008 world championships held at Melbourne early this year. Fortunately for India, Germany pulled out of the Olympic sailing competition opening the doors for India to replace the vacant spot. None from India qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the Laser Class. We missed qualification by 4 countries. Congratulations Johal for winning the trials. May he bring India glory in the Finn class in his first Olympic Games. .

Day 6 2008 Olympic Laser Trials

Today wind conditions were 8 to 10 knots. there was one race sailed today at 1600 hrs. had a good start at the pin end, managed to cross everyone. At the windward mark,had come in a very close second. Dropped four positions in the course of the race.Choudhary is selected in the laser class and the Johal is selected in the finn class . The Finn class will be going to the 2008 Olympic games as India have managed to Qualify through the unutilized quota place. Results race 11 : 6 race 11 : 1 Choudhary (Ayn) Overall : Results not known at this time

Day 5 2008 Olympic laser trials

today the wind was light and there was very strong tide.Race number nine was an extremely close race between all the sailors. everyone were on the final reach going to the finish line. Race number ten i had dropped one place during the race and made a mistake touching the mark while sailing the last upwind leg of the race making it difficlut to catch up and improve my position. Rajesh let no one finish first today, In the finn class johal made a strong comback wining two races on the trot making the last race tomorrow decide who will be the Olympian in the finn class for India. Results race 9 : 4 race 10 : 7 race 9: 1 Choudhary (AYN) race 10:1 Choudhary (AYN) Tomorrow one race will be sailed at 1600 Hrs

Day 4 Olympic 2008 laser Trials

Today the Wind was really light and shifty, after eight races Choudhary is looking the clear leader for the first time in this selection trial .Choudhary raced very well to get the two guns today.He is looking like the representative form India If we get a spot in the laser class for the 2008 Olympic Games. In the Finn Class Nitin had a very good day to take a good lead over arch rival Johal ,If all goes well for him he might be booking his flight to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.Nitin qualified India in the Finn class at the World Championships held at Melbourne early this year . Result Race 7 : 4 Race 8 : 5 Race 7 : 1 Choudhary (AYN) Race 8: 1 Choudhary (AYN)

Day 3 Olympic 2008 Laser Trials

Today the winds were medium/light.The winds became lighter as the day progressed. The Conditions on the Race course were like the past two days .Race number 5 had dropped two places during race.Race number 6 had dropped One place during the race.Racing is very competitive and close in these trials . Results Race 5 : 8 Race 6 : 3 Race 5 : 1 Jasver (AYN) Race 6 : 1 Rout (AYN)

Day 2 Olympic 2008 Laser trials

Today was similar to Yesterday in both Weather conditions and results. The wind gradually came down as the day progressed. Race 3 there was a General recall, as a safe option .I decided to restart the race. After the race was over, I found out that I wasn’t over at all. Race 4 had a good start managed not to have a good race. I have not been able to read the wind conditions as I would like to so far in these trials so far. Not an Ideal start after four races. Racing is competitive making it a good contest. There are 4 days and 7 races to go to improve my rank in these trials. Choudhry sailed well today. In the Finn class Nithin and Johal have won two races each. So far it has been an even contest. Results Race 3:5 Race 4:8 Race 3:1 Choudhary (AYN) Race 4: 1 Choudhary (AYN)

Day 1 Olympic 2008 laser Trials

Today was not a good day at the Office ,made big mistakes and paid for it . Conditions were a gentle 10 knots with gusts upto 14.You had to look out for the pressures today as there were two different winds on the course.Most of the top contenders didn't perform to their potential except for choudhary wining the second race . Results: Race 1 - 8 Race 2 - 6 Race 1 - 1 Randhawa (INWTC) Race 2 - 1 Choudry (AYN)

YAI 2008 Olympic selection Trials Laser

I am in Mumbai taking part in the Beijing 2008 Olympic selection Trials. The Yai is hosting the event along with the Naval Sailing Club(INWTC). It is being held from the 12th - 18th May08 .