Former Australian canoeist silently shaping future athletes in Meghalaya

Srinagar, Aug 21 (PTI) Ian Vincent travelled to India nearly three decades ago to explore the country. But little did the former Australian canoeist know that he would soon fall in love with it, marry a girl from Kerala, and settle down in pristine Meghalaya to train the youth to become future canoeists.

On Thursday, the Australian, in his early 60s, said he is proud that he is doing his bit to popularise canoeing in the tiny northeastern state, which has several water bodies but very little water sports activity.

"I've been in India for about 30 years now. I'm married to an Indian, yes. And I'm actually the person who started the Meghalaya Canoe Association," Vincent, who has lost much of his strong Australian accent after residing in India for nearly 30 years, says as he watches his students compete in the Khelo India Water Sports Festival here.

"I started the sport in the state 10 years ago. We could only bring four students here for the event (KIWSF) because of the limited entries, but we have around 25 (in the Meghalaya centre)," he says.

Vincent has opened a canoeing centre in the vicinity of a whitewater river in Umtham village in Meghalaya where he trains around 25 youngsters from the state to become national, and possibly international canoeists.

His daughter Elizabeth, he says, recently competed in the Asian Canoeing Championship in China.

"We love the place Umtham, U-M-T-H-A-M, Umtham," says Vincent, making sure the name of the village is spelt right.

"The government is also very supportive of our work. So, we're very happy there." "We actually live on a whitewater rapid river. We live right on the doorstep of the river. The place is called Whitewater Village. It's on Google, you can Google it," says Vincent, who has competed for Australia in the World Championship and European Cup in the early 1980s.

Sports like canoeing, kayaking and rowing require players to have certain physical attributes but Vincent is not too much concerned about that.

"It's hard to find (players with certain physical attributes in the state), yeah. We're searching for them. But we're making the best with what we've got, what we have," he says.

His motto is 'paddling towards excellence' and he organises intensive camps at Whitewater Village, making special diet plans for quick recovery and peak performance and closely monitoring and identifying the promising athletes.

"Now, we're really focusing on high-performance training as the 2027 National Games are scheduled in Meghalaya. And we are getting good results, good progress." Vincent's wife, Sheila, who hails from Kerala, helps him manage the workload.

"She is the secretary of the Meghalaya Canoeing Association," he says pointing towards his wife. Then pointing towards his daughter Elizabeth, he says, "she has been representing India for a few years now." As for his subdued Australian accent, he says, "I have been here since 1997. So, my accent has changed living in India." PTI AM AM AH AH