CHENNAI: The first time Vishnu Saravanan saw the beach, he was hit by its vastness. "I could get lost here," he remembers telling himself back then. "It's just so big." The next time when Vishnu came to the beach, this time to accompany his dad to sail, he enjoyed it so much he kind of wanted to try it himself.
Over the dozen or so years, Vishnu (Laser Standard) has kept at it. After long training hours at Chennai taught him the basics of the sport, he went on exposure abroad to enhance his knowledge. He put all that information to good use in Oman a few weeks ago to qualify for the Olympics.
When he is asked to recount whether he felt a sense of achievement, he is all smiles. But not for the reason you would think. "Pretty much living my dad's dream. His dream was going to the Olympics, unfortunately that didn't happen. So he is living his dream through me," he said during a press conference organised by Sports Authority of India on Thursday.
"Great emotions (after the final day of qualifying). Going into the last race, whoever wins would go. So the pressure was very high. My whole mantra was to keep it simple and cool," he added.
Speaking to Vishnu, it's easy to forget that he is still very, very young. Because he has such a mature head. He knows what his realistic goal in Tokyo should be. "There's no pressure because we know we're not there yet. We are young and have room to learn more," he says.
In fact, that's a trait that's shared by Nethra Kumanan (Laser Radial) as well. Nethra, who became the first woman from India to qualify, was equally keen on treating Tokyo as a learning experience. "We will see where we stand against the world level. This will be a great learning process for us," she says.
The two, along with Varun Thakkar and Ganapathy, have been added to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Though for a short period, but Vishnu and Nethra feel, this would help them procure some new equipment. "We keep needing new equipment for training and it's not cheap. This will help us to get new them," says Vishnu.
As Nethra is the first Indian woman to achieve this feat, does she think her qualification will open the floodgates? "It's a big question. I hope so, it's not just about the results, it is also about bringing life to the sport of sailing across the country so we are hoping a lot of people take it up," she says.
In the short-term, she is just happy to have qualified, proving to herself that she is a good sailor. "It was relieving to finally make it. It gives me a sense of confidence, kind of worth it you... the effort that you have put in. It's not all gone to worst. It's cool to have put sailing on the map," he says.
Vishnu concurs. After fearing he would get lost at sea, he's now making a living thanks to the sea.