Fetching Glitter from the Seas: Padidala Vishwanath

July 4, 2021

One of India’s top 3 sailors in the junior category at the moment is a lanky boy with a disarmingly wide smile. Padidala Vishwanath is all of 15, but he has sailed right to the top of the All India rankings ever since he first learned about the sport in 2015 December at the Yacht Club of Hyderabad. “The first day I came here, I had a feeling that this would make my life,” he shares.

Twenty years ago, after his grandparents, who were farmers, passed away, Vishwanath’s parents migrated from the Suryapet district of Telangana to Hyderabad in search of a better life. Their initial weeks in the city were mired in a mammoth struggle to find shelter; a house of their own. His mother, Anjamma, then stayed as a home maker, tending to her three kids, while Vishwanath’s father, Saidulu, started driving an auto. They lived on a meagre income, and their sons attended the Telangana Social Welfare School at Shaikpet. Once the lockdown struck, however, his father lost his job, and the parents have since then been working at daily wage. Their oldest son is an employee at the State Bank of India, whereas their second son is finishing high school.

Vishwanath, youngest of the three brothers, heard about the club through his school, took up the sport, and is now a top-rated player in the country. “My parents were as confident as I was about this, but my friends were skeptical. They said I won’t find jobs without a decent education,” he shares. However, once he started excelling at the sport, coach and founder of the club, Suheim Sheikh introduced him to the Army and Navy academy trials for sailing. While Vishwanath failed the Army trial in Bengaluru, he nailed the Navy selections in Goas ago, and has since been studying at training at the Navy Boys Sports Company, which is a joint venture between the Indian Navy and Sports Authority of India. The selection gives him a good chance to secure a spot in the Navy as an officer, thus securing his future.

Vishwanath has performed at many national and international regattas including the Asian and Oceania Championship-2019 at Mussanah, Oman, and the World Championships in Italy, where he was one of the seven sailors from YCH to represent India. “I want to land a medal soon,” says the teen, who credits the club for awakening him to what he should do to lead a systematic, disciplined life. “I used to be a chatterbox, but now, I am more sombre and focussed on my goals. I used to think I would clear my 12th boards and take up whatever job comes my way, perhaps a peon at some company, but now, all I can think of is representing India in sailing, and serving as a Navy officer when I grow up,” says the rising star.