THE SUN-HERALD May 10, 2009 - Special Report- PROFILE Ajay Rau,University of NSW-By JOSHUA MAULE

Ajay Rau Lives a double Life. Three days a week he can be found sitting in the University of NSW’S Lecture theatres learning media theories; the rest of the time the Indian-born international student hoots around Middle Harbour on his Laser (a one-person sailing boat),refining his skipper skills in the hope of becoming the Sachin Tendulkar of sailing.” I get pretty depressed when I’m not on the water.” He says. Growing up in Chennai, the 21-year-old first sailed more than a decade ago and got serious when he was 17.In 2006 he became India’s junior national champion.” I was just enjoying sailing,”Rau says,” and then the next day there was a lot of attention.” Rau’s success brought sponsorship deals allowing him to sail professionally. It also thrust him into the spotlight and he had to deal with journalists from national newspapers and television stations. With his parents’ help, he managed his own publicity and wrote press releases. “We have never hired an agent.” Rau says.’ You just have to be good socially and have your contacts and that’s how it works,” Rau visited Australia in 2006 and “knew I had to come back and train here some time in the future”. His sailing ambitions coupled with his “fascination” for journalism led him to Sydney this year to study a bachelor of media and communications at UNSW. After he finished his course, Rau intends to work as a sports journalist. Sailing is a minor sport in India, sitting in the shadow of cricket, but he reckons his work as a journalist may be able to raise its profile. “There’s now a sports boom happening in India,” he says,” Primarily it was cricket but now you have Indians getting interested in athletics and Olympic sports. So that’s what I’d love to cover.” JOSHUA MAULE