Coming from a household of sailors in Goa, Katya Ida Coelho is the primary and solely feminine windsurfer in India to compete within the Youth Olympics in 2014.

Since her childhood, Katya has all the time been curious and wished to discover the massive huge ocean. So, she began crusing on the age of 11 years. “Being on the water offers me a way of freedom, gliding over the waves and simply feeling the breeze brush by makes me really feel healthful,” stated Katya to the Fisto Sports activities Crew.

Her father, who has been a nationwide champion in windsurfing, taught her this wind-propelled water sport. Windsurfing is a mix of crusing and browsing, the place a windsurfer balances on the water whereas controlling the wind.

Whereas coaching within the water, Katya used to get minor accidents, resembling sunburn and rashes on her pores and skin, because of extreme warmth. Despite the ache, she says that she had an even bigger drawback on her plate — the absence of feminine opponents within the sport. “This compelled me to participate within the males’s class,” stated Katya to IncredibleGoa.

She participated in lots of nationwide competitions the place she needed to compete with males in energy. To date, she has received 10 nationwide golds and two Asian Open Championship bronzes in Techno 2015.

With a fierce ardour for the game, she additional went on to win India’s first-ever worldwide medal in iQFoil — the Olympic Windsurfing class, and in addition secured the second place on the Worldwide Windsurfing Cup in Thailand in 2022.

Katya says, “I’ve spent extra time within the water than on land!”

Having had her share of success and recognition within the sport, she now goals to carry windsurfing and iQFoiling to the limelight. However, getting sponsors has been difficult for her because the media hardly covers these sports activities.

Commercial

“I imagine no sport needs to be put above one other,” says Katya, who will quickly characterize India on the Asian Video games for the second time in 2023.

Sources:

‘Katya Coelho – Set Your Aim at Younger Age and Work For it’: Written by Rajesh Ghadge for Unimaginable Goa, Printed on 17 January 2023.

‘Katya Coelho: ‘Being on water offers me a way of freedom, gliding over the waves and feeling the breeze brush by makes me really feel healthful’: Written by Mervin LR for Fisto Sports activities, Printed on 10 Could 2023.

Edited by Pranita Bhat