Riding the seas, flying the India flag high, Mahesh Ramchandran and Girdhari Yadav sailed home India's first ever gold medal at the Military World Games in Mumbai on Friday.
With the winds keeping the sailors out for most of the afternoon, the fourth day of the event was reduced to one race, and India, leading the pack since Day 1, cruised home in the Enterprise Class by a big margin.
France won the silver, while Spain, placed second last evening, took the bronze medal for the second successive time at the Games.
"It's great since we won in uniform," said skipper Commander Mahesh, a naval pilot.
"At the end of the day, your flag flies and your national anthem is played, that's what gives you the goose bumps."
Mahesh had won the bronze at the 2002 Busan Asian Games in the Enterprise and did one better, winning the silver medal with Yadav at the Doha Asian Games last year in the four-man match race.
"Last year we lost the gold medal (to Singapore) by a very small margin. So I'm happy we could win the gold medal here," said Yadav, who after starting as staff, a storekeeper, in the Indian Navy, has been promoted to the post of Master Chief Petty Officer.
India started Friday's race, sitting pretty at number one with a six-point advantage. They pressed the home advantage to go into a big lead in the first loop and then cruised home comfortably.
"We turned on the heat for them," said the 30-year-old Mahesh, before adding cheekily, "Just as they turn on the refrigerator for us.
"We definitely had the home advantage and were confident when we started today. We didn't know at the beginning that there is going to be only one race today, so we were trying to make sure to win the first race and seal the medal then itself."
Though the duo has been sailing on and off for the last five years and it was the first time they struck gold.
Sailing and its intricacies haven't quite caught the fancy of people in India, but it was left to two 30-year-old sailors, in the middle of the Arabian sea, to responded to the call dutifully as ever and win India's first gold at a multi-disciplinary world Games in a long time.
Mahesh Ramchandran and Girdhari Yadav after winning the gold medal in the Enterprise Class sailing at the World Military Games in Mumbai.
Photograph: Uday Kuckian
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