Preethi Kongara is India's No.1 sailor in the 470 Mixed Class sailing category. She comes from a very humble background (Her father passed away when she was 9 and her mother works as a Housekeeper at a showroom). She started sailing at the age of 12 thanks to the efforts of the NGO - The Yacht Club of Hyderabad. She transformed into an ace sailor and won medals by the dozen.
At the recent Asian Games Selection trials at Mumbai Harbour, she took home the Gold in the 470 Mixed class division and has been selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023. She is just 18-years of age.
She now has a chance to represent India at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 470 Mixed class of races and win a medal plus is a potential medal winner at the Asian Games.
This campaign is to help raise funds to help her GO FOR GOLD. She will be the Skipper (captain) of the 2-person team.
Her story is so extraordinary that even Mr. Anand Mahindra recently tweeted about her in awe and admiration.
Let us all come together to help make her dreams come true and in the process give her an opportunity to make India proud. Kindly do read this inspirational story which will tell you about how this young 18-year-old has conquered the waves.
Preeti requires INR 3.06 Crore (scroll down for the details) to prepare for the Asian Games and qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024 and make India proud. Let us come together and make this a reality. In this first phase of crowdfunding am raising funds to help her get trained by a top foreign coach and also get adequate exposure to compete alongside the best in the world.
THE BACKGROUND
Preethi was selected for sailing by the Yacht Club of Hyderabad when she was just 11 years old. Even though Preethi was playing Kho-Kho at the time, she had an inclination toward athletics. She made the decision to take part in sailing since she was intrigued by Water-sports. In 2016, she enrolled in the Yacht Club of Hyderabad's, ‘Learn to Sail’ program. Since then, there has been no looking back.
Her sailing career started with the under-15 "Optimist" class of boats, and after several triumphs, she moved up to the Olympic class- 470 Mixed Class senior division. Suheim Sheikh has been Preethi's coach and mentor. In the 470 Mixed Class she works closely with the Indian Navy and her crew is officer Sudanshu Shekhar. Preethi underwent intensive fitness training at the Suchitra Academy where the renowned PV Sindhu often trains. Her nutritionist is Kinita Kadakia Patel of MealPyramid.
She is currently a second-year student pursuing her B.Com at Marredpally Junior College; and intends to remain in Mumbai till the 2024 Summer Olympics while continuing her education online.
THE EXPENSES :
This includes 6% Fueladream platform charges + 3% payment gateway charges and 18% GST.
ABOUT ME :
A picture of me and the students training at the YCH. The foundation is creating champions in sailing who are making India proud.
My name is Bharadwaj (CV) Chivukula. I am a Corporate professional, entrepreneur, and a well-wisher of Preethi.
I have been following Preethi's progress in sport for a long time and I am certain that she has all the pluck and talent to excel in sailing. I have seen her evolve in the sport. I have undertaken this campaign because I think being able to help such a motivated girl is an honour. She needs 3.06 CR to be able to compete Asian Games at Hangzhou and in the qualifying rounds of the Paris Olympics in 2024. It is her dream to represent India at the Asian Games and the Olympics and bring home a medal. If she succeeds this will be India's first-ever Olympic medal in sailing.
Preethi needs our help and support to make this happen. Please fund this campaign and let us together help Preethi achieve her dream and make India proud.
THE VENUE :
MORE IMAGES OF PREETI :
ABOUT THE YACHT CLUB OF HYDERABAD :
We are a Hyderabad-based NGO that is focused on transforming the lives of economically challenged children through sailing.
The idea of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad came up in the mind of its Founder President Suheim Sheikh in the year 2009. The intent was to create sailing infrastructure for all to access, given that sailing has been a part of Hyderabad and the Hussain Sagar lake for more than a century.
Armed with this idea the Yacht Club of Hyderabad was born on World Environment Day on June 5th, 2009. After having taken over a dilapidated and broken down 60-year-old jetty with 3 little boats, the Yacht Club now boasts of a sturdy and robust jetty with more than 150 boats. Many young sailors enjoy this facility to the fullest.
Set up as a Not-for-Profit, the club focused on economically challenged children from government schools and sharpened its training capability to the point of producing many national champions in the sub-junior and junior categories with many medalists. Preethi is one of the children who learnt her sailing here and is now making her country proud.
TAX BENEFITS :
Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as THE YACHT CLUB OF HYDERABAD is a registered Trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of IT act and is authorised to collect CSR funds from Indian Companies.
FAQs
Will we get to know more details about the utilisation of funds?
Yes. After the money has been collected it will be transferred by Fueladream to THE YACHT CLUB OF HYDERABAD. They will upload a report on the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert and can read details about the details.
When do we get the receipts?
The receipts will start getting processed about 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How can we fund this campaign with a Cheque?
Fueladream Online Ventures Pvt Ltd account details are as below
BANK NAME: HDFC Bank Limited.
BRANCH: Koramangala( Main Branch). City: Bengaluru - 560095.
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 50200013106778
IFSC CODE: HDFC0000053
Please draw a cheque in favor of "Fueladream Online Ventures Pvt Ltd", and deposit the cheque into the Fueladream Online Ventures Pvt Ltd HDFC Bank account (any branch across INDIA). After you deposit the cheque, please send an email to prasad@fueladream.com AND getintouch@fueladream.com with the following funder information.
1) Name of Funder:
2) Full address with Pin code:
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4) PAN of funder:
5) Cheque number:
6) Amount funded:
7) Whose campaign are you funding. (Name of the person OR campaign number/ID):
After the funds are received and the above details are verified, the fund amount will be transferred to the respective campaign. This can take from 1-3 working days.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept and is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds. You can fund innovations and ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding.
