Meet Lahiri Kommaravelly And Suragani Eswa, Daughters Of A Cook And A Daily Wager, Will Compete At Asian Games

Last Updated:May 09, 2026, 13:23 IST

Telangana teens Lahiri Kommaravelly and Suragani Eswa, trained under Project Naavika at Hyderabad Yacht Club, are selected for Asian Games 29ers sailing in Japan

In the waters of Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar, two teenage girls from modest backgrounds are rewriting the story of Indian sailing. Lahiri Kommaravelly and Suragani Eswa, both from Telangana, have been selected for the Asian Games in Japan later this year in the 29ers youth sailing category.

Their journeys into one of the world’s most elite sports have been anything but ordinary.

Who Are Lahiri Kommaravelly and Suragani Eswa?

Fifteen-year-old Lahiri is the daughter of a barber and a cook employed at the Hyderabad Yacht Club. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her mother Kavitha struggled to support the family before finding work at the club, where president Suheim Shaikh offered sailing training to her daughters.

Shaikh, a former IITian and long-time sailor, realised that the sport remained inaccessible to underprivileged children. “Sailing was an exotic, elite sport, and only people with access to this club or that club, or Army/Navy could sail. I went to bureaucrats in Hyderabad and told them that I would throw sailing open to everybody," he said.

That vision led to the launch of Project Naavika in 2015. “We only train underprivileged children from shanty towns, orphanages, destitute and abandoned families. We are meeting our goal of pulling hundreds out of poverty," said Shaikh.

Lahiri’s teammate, 16-year-old Suragani, comes from Chilukuru village in Telangana. After losing her father, an ambulance driver, her mother Madhavi began working as a daily wager in a pickle factory to support the family. Initially hesitant about sailing, Suragani soon embraced the challenge.

“Earlier, my mother was scared and didn’t allow me. The first time we capsized, I didn’t know what happened. But I like sailing because I’m getting good at it fast," she said.

Despite having far less physical build than many competitors at a recent regatta at Garda Lake in Italy, the pair impressed with their determination and rapid progress. Lahiri admits that adapting to international competition has also meant adjusting to unfamiliar food and conditions. “When I see other well-built sailors, I know the importance of weight. I like chicken biryani, KFC and my mother’s tomato pachadi," Lahiri said.

For Suragani, sailing has become far more than a sport. “On the waters, sometimes I fall in front, sometimes behind in heavy winds. But sailing teaches us to get back up and start again."

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