Four Indian sailors have made the Olympic cut for the first time in the country’s history
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In a historic first, four sailors will represent India in the upcoming Olympics. Among them is Nethra Kumanan (Laser Radial) – the first woman sailor from India to make it to the Olympics. With sailing not being a popular sport in the country, the Olympic-bound sailors have a great opportunity to change the perception in Tokyo. Vishnu Saravanan, India’s premier Laser Standard sailor, Vishnu Ganapathy, and Varun Thakkar (Skiff 49er) are the other three sailors to make the Olympic cut.
Responding to a question from Sportslumo in a virtual media interaction, facilitated by the Sports Authority of India, Nethra said, “For Tokyo, it’s a huge step for us. A lot of time, we will go in with a lot of pressure and expectations, but the four of us will get to go with none of that. So it will be an incredible opportunity for us to go have fun, do our best without that pressure on ourselves. For me, it’s learning about the atmosphere of the game.”
For the first time, Indian sailors have qualified for three events, doing well in the Mussanah Open Sailing Championships in Oman, an Asian and African Olympic Qualifier.
“Qualification in Oman drained a lot of energy from us. Going into the games, we have worked very hard, we have trained with the top guys, so we know our boat speed is pretty good,” Vishnu Saravanan, who was also present during the media interaction, said.
Speaking about his target in Tokyo, he said, “We are going there for a good experience and I’ll be happy to get a few top-ten finishes and finish in the top 50 percent of the fleet which is very doable for me. There’s no pressure because we know we’re not there yet. We just use the situation in our side and get the best out of it.”
Talking about the mindset needed while participating in Olympics, Vishnu said, “The whole nation has so much hope on us but we have to be cool-minded like MS Dhoni and do our job.”
Vishnu is satisfied with the recognition they have attained following the Olympic qualification. However, he reckons Indian sailors will only get better from here.
“Now we’re recognised, which is pretty good, this is the first step of getting there as a sport sailing in itself. Before the Olympic qualification, no one knew what sailing was, to be honest. Now 50% know what sailing is,” he said.
Since the sport is pretty close to nature, Vishnu is confident that it will inspire youngsters to take up sailing. “In the future I’m sure, one of us or someone else from India gets a medal at Olympics, the sport itself will boost because it’s closer to nature and the young generation loves the environment and be closer to the environment,” Vishnu added.
“And this is the closest they can be as a sport because there are multiple tasks on the water to do and everything other than that the mind’s always busy. In the future, we will do well, I’m pretty confident!”
On her part, Nethra also believes that a good run in the Olympics can boost the sport’s popularity in the country. “Of course if we do well and get a medal, it’s going to boost the sport even more. We will do our best and hopefully, a lot of young sailors take up the sport and do that in the years to come.”
Expressing her happiness in qualifying for the Olympics, Nethra hopes many more take up the sport in the future. “We were working very hard for this and right now, we are excited that finally the Olympic dream has been achieved,” she added.
“It’s a huge step to be at the Olympics and it’s brought a lot of light to the sport of sailing and I hope many people take it up. I’m also honoured to be the first woman sailor from India to make it to the Olympics.”
