Team Trishna Sailing Club emerged champions of the Optimist class team racing event at the 6th YAI Secunderabad Club GMR Sports Youth Open Regatta 2026 at the Hussain Sagar Lake on Thursday, winning a deciding final race against Team Telangana Sailing Association after the two sides could not be separated.
Eight teams contested 36 races over the course of the event, in conditions that gave the young sailors little respite, fresh winds through the morning giving way to squalls in the afternoon, with gusts touching 25 knots.
Team racing is the most tactical format in the sport. Sailors race not for their own finishing position but to manoeuvre the opposing team into a losing combination, and every move is judged on the water by umpires who deliver instant decisions on protests, no post-race hearings, no waiting for results. With races lasting barely ten minutes, there was no room for error.
Aanya Reddy sails to the top in Optimist Green’s category at the Youth Open Regatta
The shifting breeze added a further dimension. The steadier morning wind rewarded clean tactical racing, while the afternoon squalls put a premium on survival and boat handling, with crews balancing aggressive close-quarters manoeuvres against the constant risk of capsize.
Round-robin racing and semifinals produced two finalists. Team Trishna Sailing Club which comprised Krishna (RMYC), Aldrain Antony, Virat and international sailor Khairul Afendy of Malaysia, and Team Telangana Sailing Association, comprising SK Rameeza Bhanu, Mani N, Ravi Benneollu (National Champion) and Narsimha B. The teams won a race apiece to force a decider, which Team Trishna claimed the title.
Team Racing final standings:
1. Trishna Sailing Club: Krishna (RMYC), Aldrain Antony, Virat, Khairul Afendy (Malaysia).
2. Telangana Sailing Association 1: SK Rameeza Bhanu, Mani N, Ravi Benneollu, Narsimha B.
3. CESC / TSC: Yuvraaj Sirohi, Ayush Nikam, Aditya, Prince Barar.
4. Telangana Sailing Association: S Vishal, D Akshay Kumar, Konda Samanyu, Hanumanthu.
