Gowtham - Wooed by the Sails

Vijaylakshmi was a mother of two infants, married to an abusive husband all at the age of 19. She set out looking for work to support her kids, and she settled for whatever work and pay she received. She even settled for physical abuse at the hands of her husband, who’d left his job as a painter, and taken to drinking. “It was all for my kids; all I wanted was a future for them,” she says.

That future was still bleak for the son of a maid, studying in a government school in the shantytown of Rasoolpura, Hyderabad. Vijaylakshmi’s husband passed away in 2007 due to liver cirrhosis leaving her to fend for herself and her two sons, the youngest, Gowtham Kankatla, just seven years old. Until age thirteen, life for Gowtham was the same as that for the other kids in his neighbourhood. School, and then hanging out in the streets with friends. However, in November 2014, at Udbhav School where he used to study, a team from the Yacht Club of Hyderabad(YCH) came around, looking for new recruits. Sailing was an alien concept to Gowtham, but he found the water sport exciting. He passed the initial fitness test, and was all set to join the club, not really knowing exactly how it would alter the course of his life.

Back at home, Gowtham fought hard to convince his mother to let him join. She finally gave in, unable to resist his conviction. “If my father had been around, he would not have let me join,” says Gowtham. At age 13, the young boy took a leap of faith, and along with his best friend, Durga Prasad, started training under Founder and Coach Suheim Sheik in the waters of the Hussainsagar lake at YCH.

“Suheim sir is a coach who gives 200% while training. The value that hard work can bring to our life is a lesson I learned under him,” shares Gowtham. His mother in turn talks about how his daily routine shaped up. “He is punctual and sincere now. He takes care of himself, and he is sensitive to what happens around the house too,” says Vijaylakshmi. The club also paid his school fee from the year he joined, and got him admitted to St. Mary’s College, from where he completed his 12th grade. “I was also enrolled into tuitions and special classes to help improve my English,” Gowtham shares. He admits that communication was a huge roadblock when he first joined, but with soft skills training over the years, he has become a lot more confident and expressive. Care of diet and fitness was also completely taken over by the club, ensuring that players maintained a healthy weight and stamina.

One of the biggest challenges Gowtham faced as a fledgeling in the sport was the mindset to win. “It is hard enough to stay in control of the boat when you are in the water. We also need to pay attention to the opponents, their moves, their strengths and their weaknesses,” Gowtham elaborates. These are intricate skills that he learned on his way to winning his first national gold medal in 2016. That victory led to a call for selections to the under-15 team of he Navy. Unfortunately, the trials collided with Gowtham’s Class 10 Boards, and he had to let go of that opportunity. He saw 6 of his mates from the club, including Durgaprasad, get selected and move to the Navy school in Goa.

Disappointed but not defeated, Gowtham kept at it. “The club taught me discipline and love or the sport. All I care about is sailing, and every time I am in the water, I want to do my best,” says the sailor, who represented India at the J80 Worlds in China. When he reached the age of 18, he was already guiding and training his juniors, and the club began providing him with a monthly stipend of ₹18,000. Over the years, Gowtham has watched the club expand and grow in terms of members and facilities. “We only had a few boats when I first joined, but now, there are about 150 members who pepper the lake with their sails,” he says.

The club also ensured that the lockdown didn’t put a pause on the education for these kids, as it did for many underprivileged students, when schooling shifted online. The members were provided with phones and tablets and took special classes at the club’s premises in Sanjeeviah Park too.

The lockdown had also put on hold plans for Gowtham to move to Portugal to train at a fine sailing school. However, destiny always had plans for him where his heart had first set. Coach Suheim let Gowtham know of a direct admission opportunity that the Navy was providing. Gowtham gave the tests, and finally, qualified to join his compatriots at the prestigious institution.

Gowtham’s mother says other kids and their parents in her neighbourhood notice the changes in Gowtham, and are inspired by it too. “They have seen the shifts he has made in his life thanks to the club, which is now ensuring his future, and there is hope that they will inculcate these changes in their lives too. That brings me a lot of pride,” says Vijaylakshmi.

For Gowtham, all he cares about is sailing. Incredible hard work, and a passionate club willing to create an ecosystem of development and victory, has now ensured his future. Gowtham believes that a medal in the Asian Games or the Olympics will bring the sport and the club the recognition it deserves. And although he admits it is not going to happen overnight, one can see the light in his eyes as he smirks and says that he is going to be the one to bag it.