Chennai girl Alia Sabreen Faisal won bronze at National Sailing Championship 2023

Chennai, 19, August 2023: Alia Sabreen Faisal, a Grade 10 student from Chennai and a two-time national award winner, took home the bronze medal in the recently finished YAI youth multi class sailing championship 2023, which was held in Mysuru, Karnataka. At the Royal Mysore Sailing Club event on the 77th Independence Day, she received a bronze medal from commander Mr. ML Sharma.

Alia started sailing when she was 11 years old. She first became interested when her mother took her to a sailing program during the summer. She began sailing in an Optimist, a tiny boat for beginners, and then switched to a Laser, an Olympic-class vessel. She was first trained by Chinna Reddy of the Royal Madras Yacht Club, and she is currently trained by Paru Madhu, who is the Asian Games coach for laser class boats. She is a member of the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association and has represented Tamilnadu with pride in numerous national tournaments. 

Alia Sabreen Faisal, who represented Tamilnadu at various national level championship competitions, won gold and silver medals in two separate national competitions last year. She is ranked fourth by the Yachting Association of India and represented India at the ILCA Asian championship, which was held in Ningbo, China.

While speaking on receiving the award Alia Sabreen Faisal said that "I started sailing from the age of 11. Since then, I have put a lot of effort towards gaining greater recognition. I represented India and Tamilnadu in a few international events as well as numerous national ones. I'm thrilled to uphold the honor of my state and nation.”

"I am thrilled to receive the medal from the army commander Mr. ML Sharma," she continues. This time, despite my best efforts, I only managed to earn bronze. I am extremely appreciative to my parents, coach Mr. Paru Madhu, and school, APL Global School, all of which had complete faith in me and offered their support. It spurs me on to accomplish many more things in the upcoming year. One of my goals is to represent India at the Olympics, and I will do everything in my ability to return home with many gold medals. My current training and award will serve as a steppingstone for future significant accomplishments”.

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