Indian Navy to pick, train little sailors for life in uniform

HYDERABAD: Six children from underprivileged backgrounds aged between 11 to 15 years will soon join the sailing teams of the Indian Army and Navy and thereafter qualify for direct entry to the forces after finishing their education at Kendriya Vidyalaya.

These young sailors are children of farmers, farm labourers, auto drivers and waiters belonging to marginalised communities. All of them have been trained by the

Yacht Club of Hyderabad

. The boys come from small towns like Pargi and Vikarabad and study at SWAEROES - government schools in Telangana for poor children.

One of the children, Durga Prasad, hails from Rasoolpura and studies at Udbhav School. He learnt sailing in 2015 and within a span of two years represented India at the World Championships in July in Thailand. He will leave for Goa at the end of July to join the Navy training-and-education programs headed by Rear Admiral Monty Khanna. Thereafter, Prasad will represent the Navy at all championships.

Vamshi and Vijay have been selected to join the Army Sports School at Bangalore run by the

Madras Engineers Regiment

. Mallesh Sachin and Vishvanath would join the Navy with Durga Prasad at Goa at their spanking new facility.

“I had always wanted marginalized and neglected children to stand on their own feet in a profession of their choice and now I am happy to see that my dream for them has come true,” said

Suheim Sheikh

, coach and founder of Yacht Club of Hyderabad.

Read this story in Telugu