Fuel the Olympic Fire: How is sailor KC Ganapathy keeping himself fit before Tokyo 2020 and what does he eat?
Ace Indian sailor KC Ganapathy will be carrying India's hopes in the 49er category along with his crew member Varun Thakkar at Tokyo 2020
The Chennai-based KC Ganapathy was nearly seven when he was introduced to the sport. Now at 26, he is set to make his maiden appearance at the Olympics, qualifying for Tokyo 2020 after finishing top at the Mussanah Open Sailing Championships in Oman.
Ganapathy, however, is considering his team as underdogs heading into Tokyo 2020 and expects them to finish in the top 10.
It should also be noted that the Ganapathy-Thakkar pair had clinched a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games but a bigger challenge awaits them in Tokyo.
Let us have a look at how Ganapathy is shaping up for the mega event.
What is Ganapathy's diet like?
Ganapathy is not a fan of protein supplements. He likes to eat clean and rely on 'natural' sources to maintain his fitness. And although the sailor remains abroad for training for the most part of the year, whenever he is at home, it is his mother who cooks some lip-smacking food for him.
"I don't like protein powder because I normally get a loose tummy after having it, so (I) try and get protein from natural sources. (My) favourite food would have to be something home cooked. My mom is an amazing cook," Ganapathy told Olympics.com.
Ganapathy, usually, relies on eggs and fruits in the breakfast for protein. Interestingly, he also likes to have oats or ragi flour -- which is high on protein -- for the breakfast after his morning workout session.
"Breakfast is always 3 eggs (boiled, omelette, fried). With some fruits and oats or ragi (flour). Now, I normally have a big glass of ragi (flour) when I wake up in the morning and breakfast after working out," Ganapathy said.
His lunch and dinner is also quite simple as he likes to have a non-vegetarian meal in the afternoon and vegetarian food before going to sleep at night.
"Lunch is rice, chicken, veggies, and dal or some kind of curry while dinner is chapati, a curry and boiled veggies," Ganapathy said.
Consults health development company to maintain diet
Ganapathy has been in consultation with Alia Abreo -- performance physiology and nutrition expert based in Bangalore -- to maintain his diet ahead of the Tokyo 2020. He has also concentrated to bulk up in the ongoing season and has worked towards increasing his appetite.
"I'm working with PHD (Potential Health Development) nutrition, a Bangalore-based company founded by Alia (Abreo). So most of my days are like the above-mentioned diet," Ganapathy said.
"We've had to put on weight for the boat so, I eat quite a bit and try to get some snacks," he added.
Moreover, mouth-watering South Indian delicacies, is something that Ganapathy has always loved to gorge on since he was a child and thus he prefers the food from the Eden restaurant in Chennai.
"My favourite food from a restaurant would have to be from a place called Eden in Chennai. They have phenomenal food and I've eaten there since I was a baby," Ganapathy said.