CHENNAI: After the historic bronze at the Asian Games, Vishnu Saravanan became the first Indian sailor to confirm the quota in the Paris Olympics at the Men's World Championship. The 27-year-old secured the qualification as he finished 26th amongst 152 sailors in the ILCA (International Laser Class Association) 7 class. With seven quotas up for grabs at the Championship in Adelaide, the sailor from Mumbai confirmed his ticket to Paris 2024.
What makes this achievement even more special is that this is the first time any Indian sailor has qualified for the Olympics via the World Championship. "It is a wonderful feeling. This is the first time our sailor has qualified while competing in the World Championship, which is a big deal," Captain Jitendra Dixit, joint secretary general of the Yachting Association of India, told this daily. "Vishnu is the first sailor to get the qualification for two Olympics in India, which is a huge achievement in itself. It is a proud moment for all of us."
"For the Tokyo Olympics, the qualification came through the Asian Continental qualification. That was only Asian countries, now athletes from all over the world were part of this competition. Veterans say that the World Championships are more difficult than the Olympics. In the Olympics, only one sailor from a country participates, but in the World Championship, the top nations send multiple sailors. That makes it a great achievement," he added.
Army Subedar, who practices at the Army Yachting Node in Mumbai, secured the top rank among Asian countries, surpassing gold medallists from Singapore in the Asian Games and medal winners from Hong Kong and Thailand in the Continental Qualifiers. Vishnu was part of the gold fleet, which included the Top 50 sailors from the ILCA 7 class. In the initial days of the tournament, all the sailors in the class are divided into three fleets based on their performance - gold, silver, and bronze. The top sailors who made it to the gold fleet competed among themselves for the remaining races. He concluded the competition with an overall score of 174. Following the standard rule, his least score of 49 in a race was subtracted, resulting in a net score of 125.
With this achievement, the gradual success of Indian sailing has unlocked another milestone and Dixit believes the Olympic qualification via the World Championship is one of the proudest moments for the sailors in the country. "In 2018, we won three medals in the Asian Sailing Championship. The same year we added three medals in the Asian Games. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, our sailors continued their work. After the pandemic was over, in the 2022 Asian Sailing Championship, we won nine medals, which is a record. And in the Asian Games in China, we won three medals. In between, three teams were qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Now, Vishnu has qualified and we are hopeful to add more qualifications in the coming months. In April, we have a regatta in France and we are hoping to add two more quotas from there as well," Dixit said.
The Olympics is still six months away, and India would hope to snatch a medal in sailing, but for now, Vishnu has created a history, that everyone can applaud.