I was informed that we would be getting new equipment and we were training on our own equipment which had gone through wear and tear during trainings
- Dayne Coehlo
VASCO: Goa's brother-sister duo -- Dayne Coelho and Katya Coelho along with their father and coach Donald Coelho arrived Goa on Sunday from the Asian Games in Jakarta where they represented India in windsurfing.
Though there was prior information of their arrival, there was no one from the sports department or any govt official present at the Dabolim airport to welcome the athletes. Nevertheless, a huge crowd of locals and students & staff of Ardee School where Katya Coelho was a student thronged the airport to accord a rousing reception to the Goan team.
Donald Coelho, holder of three national titles from 2010 - 2012 who was selected as the coach of his children Dayne and Katya (who were the only Goans and Indians representing India at the Asian Games in windsurfing) said that, "the Govt had failed to provide new equipments on time that created a negative mindset in his children and led to the failure in the Asian Games."
Donald further said, "Although they are coming with out any medal when they had won a silver and bronze at the Singapore open championship few months back, I would want to tell that the fin of the boat broke and we had other mishaps. Dayne caught a cold and games are all about dedication, devotion and focus. Disappointment began when we realised that the equipment was not coming at the last moment. I began running around arranging for equipment. Two boards have been sanctioned and we request the Govt to speed up the proposal as Dayne is preparing for Olympics and we want the Govt to spend some money on training programmes."
Speaking to the media, Dayne Coelho informed that he was honoured to be representing the country in the Asian Games. "Around a month ago I was informed that we would be getting new equipment and we were training on our own equipment which had gone through wear and tear during trainings. Unfortunately, the new equipment did not arrive in time and we had to use the same equipment which was not fast enough and we lost out as new equipment was not given to us in time." Meanwhile, Katya Coelho said that she was very proud to represent India at the Games. However, Melita Coelho, her aunt, said that the duo had made India proud but the Govt had done nothing to tap their talent and it should have worked on their trainings months ahead like other countries. "The other athletes from other countries were sent to Europe for months and months of training. I request the Govt to atleast send them for training now as they prepare for Olympics 2020 as they need scientific training and need new equipment. When the money is there why is the Govt not tapping this talent?"
Prita Salgaoncar, a teacher from Ardee School, said she was proud of Katya Coelho and the school had offered some sponsorship though the Govt did nothing for the athletes. "There is a lot of talent but the Govt is not doing much. More and more people can get inspired and I request the Govt to go ahead and support the Goan Athletes,​" said Salgaoncar.
