CHENNAI : Gran Caneria is a one-stop shop for most things in the sport of sailing. Located off the coast of Spain, the island has produced multiple Olympic champions in sailing: its perfect conditions means elite sailors don’t need a second invitation to make Las Palmas, the capital city, their base.Another sailor who made Gran Caneria their base over the last several years has also reaped rich rewards in the last few days — India’s Nethra Kumanan.
Two days ago, she became the first Indian woman sailor to book an Olympic spot. At the Musannah Open Championship in Oman, a joint Asia-Africa qualifier, she clinched a spot in the Laser Radial Class by managing a solid performance on all days of racing. Unlike other sports, in sailing you are marked by the number of mistakes you make. She managed to keep it down over the course of a week and walked away with an Olympic spot.
Even if her sailing story began in Chennai — her mum put her in a summer camp when she was 14 and she’s been in love ever since, her move up the ladder of success gathered pace after she moved to the Gran Caneria Sailing Academy. “Nethra is the first ever female athlete in the sport of sailing in India, who is attending the @olympics,” the Academy posted on their Facebook page. “We are unspeakably proud of her and truly happy to support her on this journey.”
When this daily asked her to describe how hard it is to pursue a sport like sailing in India, the 23-year-old is thankful that she managed to find a ‘great group’ in the Canary Islands. “ (In) India, it is hard as it’s not a known or popular sport. I have been fortunate enough to find a great group in the Canary Islands where we can sail (all) year round thanks to perfect weather. So, I have committed my journey to the academy there to help me achieve my goal.”
In fact, Nethra, who came into the limelight after medalling at the Sailing World Cup last year, even purchased a boat for herself so that she could move around easily.”I have better equipment in Gran Canaria than anywhere else because I can send it around being a laser. I only need my own ropes and the boats are easily available... so I have bought myself a boat to have in Europe for all the racing and training that we do there.”
Even if other athletes rued lockdown in 2020 before the Olympics before it was postponed, the Chennai girl sees it as ‘extra time’ to prepare. “We were lucky to have the extra time to work.” Even if mainland Spain was skewered by the virus, Canary Islands was relatively safer. She did not compromise on her fitness sessions during lockdown (she went back to her base rather than coming to India after the original qualifier got postponed in March 2020 to stay close to her coaches and some of her equipment) and was prepared to go full tilt once restrictions eased.
A year later, the reward for all that hard work is a place in Tokyo and the honour of the first woman to represent India in sailing. “I’m happy to have done something I have been trying to do for a while. And to do it with my friends is indescribable.”Nearly a decade ago, she began racing with the likes of Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy after that summer camp. Now, the Olympics beckons for all of three of them.