365Telugu.com online news,Hyderabad,February 13,2024: Banny Bongur (13) born to Ratanraj and Lakshmi Bongur, a poor farmer family in Bongur Kanjamalapur in Zaheerabad, Telangana and Akshay Kumar a driver’s son have altered the fate of their families by rising to the top of the Sub Junior Fleet and being tentatively selected from The Yacht Club of Hyderabad to the Army Boy Sports Sailing School at Mysore.
Both boys are sponsored by the Yacht Club and studying at the IIM Ahmedabad Alumni supported Udbhav School at Rasoolpura Secunderabad. Bannys’ father has a small 3 acre holding at Kanjamalpur a hamlet with a population of just 400 and grows Jonnalu and owns a few a few buffaloes while Lakshmi his wife is a housewife.
Banny lives with his uncle and erstwhile sailor Yourrulu Prasad at Rasoolpura. Ratanraj and Lakshmi are proud parents now that their son is not just ranked No.2 in India under the tutelage of The Yacht Club’s charitable programs but that if he finally makes it to the army when he turns 18 under the sports quota, he will be the highest bread earner in the family and the first army man in the village.
Akshay Kumar (13) was born in Hyderabad to Narayana Murali and Nagamani. Narayana is a driver and Nagamani a housewife and the family also stays in the bylanes of Rasoolpura Secunderabad. A quiet and unassuming boy Akshay is ranked 15th in India.
Akshay was selected because of a well-earned athletic build and good fitness apart from sailing well during the selection process. He follows in the footsteps of Gowtham Kankatla and Durga Prasad who also studied at Udbhav and lived in Rasoolpura and now officers in the Navy.
Living close to Hussain Sagar has proved to be lucky for so many sailors selected by The Yacht Club at Sanjivaiah Park and thereafter to the Army.
This is the final selection process but now begins the agonizing wait for the actual call letter from the Army Selection Committee at Delhi post approval by the Sports Authority of India.
“The preliminary selection of these two sailors caps the induction of 21 boys before them from the Yacht Club who are mostly still studying at the Army and Navy Sailing Schools of which three have already been inducted into the Navy and one into the Army with solid sailing and real careers with the forces ahead of them.
“said Suheim Sheikh their Coach and President of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad. “This truly vindicates our tagline “Dignity Through Sports” as the idea of setting up a sailing facility for the poor was to enable marginalised youth to exhibit talent and make lucrative careers to help lift a generation our of poverty “.
he continued After they receive the call letter, Banny and Akshay will move to Bangalore and study at the Kendriya Vidyalaya while being trained to sail by Army Coaches from the MEG centre and Trishna Sailing Club at Mysore and hopefully thereafter to National and International performances and fame as Vijay Sabavath their predecessor from YCH who got two international medals at the Asian level and is now inducted to the Army at Bombay.