Goa-born windsurfer Katya Ida Coelho will hand over the torch of the National Games 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 26. (More Sports News)
PM Modi will attend the National Games opening ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa. Coelho will hand over the torch to the PM during the ceremony. The five-hour-long function will also feature performances by Goa-born Hema Sardesai and Sukhwinder Singh, among others.
So, who is Katya Ida Coelho?
Born in Goa, Katya was born in a 'sailing family'. Her father Donald Coelho is a former national windsurfing champion and her brother Dayne is still an active windsurfer.
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Katya's tryst with sailing began when was four years old and by the time she turned 11, she was already competing. However, Katya's life changed completely when she qualified for the 2014 Youth Olympics and became the only Indian female windsurfer at the event. Katya then clinched two medals at the Asian Open Championship in 2015 in Techno and grabbed 13 national-level gold medals. At the 2018 Asian Games, Katya went on to become the first Indian surfer to represent the country along with her brother in the RS: One category.
When not sailing or working out at the gym, Katya spends time medidating, listening to music, painting or devoting time in her online start-up of graphic designing.
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Katya was in the news when she was neglected for the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. "Till August 25 my name was on the list, my measurements for the team uniform were also taken but then after that, I don’t know what happened. There was a sailing contingent of 16 and I was the only one dropped. I am heartbroken," Katya had said on her exclusion from the sailing team for the Games.
The Yachting Association of India (YAI) later stated that Katya had no ranking to qualify for Asian Games.
