Katya Coelho has become the first Indian female surfer to qualify for the Asian Games iQ Foil event, a windsurfing class sailing sport, to be held on September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China. In 2018, she became the first female Indian windsurfer to compete at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Katya won the gold medal at the third trial in the women’s category at the Sail India Championship 2023 on Monday in Mumbai to secure her qualification in the continental Games.
She was among the 199 Indian surfers competing in the Championship.
After qualifying for the Asiad, Katya said, “It is a big moment in my career to be able to represent my country on such a big platform.”
Talking about the sport’s development in India, she said, “I aim to win gold for India. As newer sports get recognised in India and receive love and support from fans, we will see more athletes coming up and making our country proud.”
Katya, who won two medals at the Asian Open Championship in 2015, won gold at Senior Nationals, Yachting Association of India and in all three Asian Games selection trials for the IQ Foil category.
The seasoned surfer has a terrific track record - she has 10 national gold medals and two Asian Open Championship bronze. She was also the only Indian female windsurfer to compete in the Youth Olympics in 2014.
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