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The Rediff Interview / Nitin Mongia

'Winning is easy; staying on top is difficult'

Nitin Mongia is one of India's leading sailors, having won the national title in the Laser full rig class a record five times. Last week, he conceded his title to young Sandeep Srikanth of Chennai.

Mongia comes from a family of sailors. His father, Commodore Surinder Mongia, has won medals on the international circuit and is currently the vice-president of the Yachting Association of India. His brother Ashim is currently the national Enterprise champion and is one of this year's Arjuna awardees.

Nitin is now concentrating on the OK Dinghy class, which he believes suits his built perfectly. The OK Dinghy is an Asian Games class and Nitin hopes to be force to reckon with in it by the time the next Asian Games come around in 2002 in Pusan, South Korea.

In a chat with K Nagarajan, the Bombay-based sailor reflects on the loss of his national Laser full rig crown, his plans for the OK Dinghy category and the reasons why Indian sailors fail to make an impression on the world stage in the Laser category.

Nitin, it must be a little disappointing to lose the national title in the Laser full rig class, after having won it a record five times...

Losing is always disappointing but it is good to see the youngsters coming through and making an impression. It is encouraging to see the young talent - - Sandeep Srikanth and Rakesh Choudhary - - come through and win. But winning is easy; staying on top is difficult. My only advice to them is that they need to get physically fit to sail the Laser. And they need to get mental training and more experience, which they will get from the circuits which they race in Europe and other places. So it's physical conditioning, mental strength and race experience which are the three key elements.

You have won the title in the OK Dinghy class, which is an Asian class. What are your plans on that front?

The OK Dinghy was raced in the last Asian Games. I am a little heavier so I have moved to this class and it makes sense to race the OK Dinghy. But I have shifted only recently to this class and am still getting to know the boat. There was no real competition this time at the nationals. I am going on the international circuit this year. That will help me sort out my speed and help me get to know the boat better. Then I will have a clearer picture as to what is happening. The schedule is that I will basically be training in India for most of the year and then do the World championships and the Asian championships. A lot of hard work needs to go in till 2002 to get that medal and I have to keep pushing.

We have done quite well in the Enterprise class at the world level, including two World championships. But why do you think our results in the Laser category have been disappointing?

The problem is that at the last Laser World championships, out of 140 competitors, 68 were professional sailors. The Laser has become a very professional class, where people are sailing throughout the year. If it gets too cold in one place they go to another place and sail. They keep sailing and as a result they get a lot more recent experience than we do. They always land up being physically fitter because they are sailing throughout the year. Here we sail for, maybe, two championships a year, and whoever is training is on his own. Neither is there much racing going on.

The Laser radial rig has been accepted as a medal category at the next Asian Games for the first time. Do you think that gives Indian sailors a better chance considering it suits their medium-built a lot more than the full rig?

I think the radial rig is really picking up in the country because the full rig at the Asian level is also very competitive and all the sailors racing at Asian level are also full time professional sailors. They are usually sailing throughout the year. The radial, since it has just been introduced, is an advantage for us, I think. We have a good chance for a medal in this class because we are starting at par if we start training right now. I think we definitely have a good chance in this category at the Asian Games.

You have been involved with sailing in the country for a long time now. What are your impressions about the talent that is around at the moment?

The talent is there but I am not sure if they are as willing to push as hard as needed to achieve something, or win a medal. I remember, when we used to sail the optimists (a small one-man boat for under -15 sailors) and the Cadets (a small two-man boat for under-17 sailors) we were out in the water almost everyday after school or college and just kept sailing till it got dark. But things are getting better now in sailing after a gap of nearly three to four years, and the youngsters, especially the optimists, are looking quite promising. So let's hope something good comes out of all this.

At the last nationals in Bombay, over 50 sailors participated in the Optimist class. Do you think that is a positive sign for the future?

It's a positive sign but again you are broad basing the sport. But to get a medal and to broad base a sport are two different things. If you want a medal you will have to get the top four or five from the young talent that you spot and push them to get to a higher level. You can broad base the sport, but unless you push the youngsters to a higher level you still won't win a medal.

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