Sailing: Royalist Yusef Hazari makes history; becomes youngest to win Nationals

Yusef Hazari of Royal College clinched the position in the Optimist class, becoming the youngest in the history of sailing to win the Sri Lanka Sailing Nationals. 

A Grade 8 student, Hazari raced the Optimist class in six grueling back-to-back races, lasting six hours, sailing into a clear win. He was placed first in five out of the six races.

"We were back on the water after two years and I wanted to start with a bang because I haven't had any real victories before, or participated in any international races yet," said Hazari, who turned 13 last month. 

"It was a challenging race, especially because some of us have very old boats and third-hand sails. But I guess, that made it more exciting. I couldn't have done it without the support of our master-in-charge, Mr. Jayantha, our coaches Mr. Janaka and Mr. Nishantha and our captain Kanila Gunasekara," he added, after an epic win. 

All sailing events including the Nationals and the International Optimist Dingy Association (IODA) Championship, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka last year, were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Sailing Nationals 2021, organised by the Yachting Association of Sri Lanka and the National Olympic Committee, was the first major sailing event to be held after a lapse of almost two years.

"There's a lot of talent in the sailing arena in Sri Lanka, especially among the junior sailors, but we need the equipment to back it," said Sarath Kuragama, the Chief Operating Officer of Yachting Association of Sri Lanka. 

"This Nationals was a testament to what these youngsters can do with just a week's training they received, as they couldn't practice due to the pandemic," he added.

With National coach W.P. Krishan Janaka and Assistant National Coach W.A. Roshil Nishantha, at the helm of the coaching programme, this year's nationals was fraught with excitement. 

The races kicked off at the picturesque Bolgoda Lake last Friday, with the Optimist, Laser Radial and Laser Standard classes. 

The GP14, Enterprise, Laser 4.7 and Windsurfing events were held on Sunday last week, with Sri Lanka Navy emerging as overall winners. 

Dhanika Nanayakkara of S. Thomas' College came in first in the Laser 4.7 class.

"We need to thank the Yachting Association of Sri Lanka for their support and the Ceylon Motor Yacht Club for the venue. 

There's talent, it's time we took Sri Lankan sailing to greater heights," said national coach Krishan Janaka.

Results

Optimist Class
Winner: Yusef Hazari  (Royal College)
1st Runner-up: Tharen Nanayakkara (S. Thomas' College)
2nd Runner-up: Nikhil Nanayakkara (S. Thomas' College)

Laser Radial
Winner: J.M.P.L. Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka Navy)
1st Runner-up: P.N.P.K. Dissanayake (Sri Lanka Navy)
2nd Runner-up: Dhanika Nanayakkara (S. Thomas' College)

Laser Standard
Winner: K.G.C.U.S. Bandara (Sri Lanka Navy)
1st Runner-up: U.D. Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka Navy)
2nd Runner-up: J.S. Senaviratne (Sri Lanka Navy)

GP14
Winner: W.M.C. Marambe and G.P.P. Karunaratne (Sri Lanka Navy)
1st Runner-up: N.G.M.U. Gnanawardene and A.S.K. de Soyza (Sri Lanka Navy)
2nd Runner-up: Devin Goonawardene and Kaif Sally (Ceylon Motor Yacht Club)

Enterprise
Winner: J.M.P.L. Jayasuriya and T.D.S. Perera (Sri Lanka Navy)
1st Runner-up: K.C. de Soyza and J.P.S. de Silva (Sri Lanka Navy)
2nd Runner-up: J.H.M.P.I. Jayapadma and S.P.P.N. Kumara (Sri Lanka Navy)

Laser 4.7 Class
Winner: Dhanika Nanayakkara (S. Thomas' College)
1st Runner-up: Jehan de Silva (S. Thomas' College)
2nd Runner-up: Niveyn Nanayakkara (S. Thomas' College)

Windsurfing
Winner: Priyantha Gunawardene (Sri Lanka Navy)
1st Runner-up: Chaminda Silva (Bentota Windsurf Club)
2nd Runner-up: Chameera Gunawardana (Bentota Windsurf Club)