In a history making moment of many firsts, three Indian yachting teams have qualified to participate in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics at the just concluded Asian Olympics Qualification Competition held at Mussanah, Oman.
This is the first time that India has competed and secured a berth at the Olympics. In the past, Indian teams have participated through wild card entries/nominations/ quota.
Historical first include twenty three year old NethraKumanan from Chennai, who became the first Indian woman to secure a seat in the Olympics when she came first amongst the Asians countries in the Olympics qualifier competition in the Laser Radial category. The other teams to qualify include the duo of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar, also from Chennai, who stood first in the 49er class, while army man Vishnu Saravanan, currently posted at Mumbai, clinched the slot in the Laser Standard category.
The Indian contingent of 20 sailors (13 males and 07 females) saw spirited performance wherein, 49erFX team of Ekta/ Ritika secured third position. In fact, two other Indian women sailors HarshitaTomar and Ramya Saravananput up a good performance at the race andfinished in the top six in the Laser Radial class. Ishwariya Ganesh came third in RSX class.
These spectacular results are the outcome of sheer hard work and thorough determination on the part of Team India, ably led by the chief national coach Tomasz Januszweski, as well as the other Indian coaches.
The teams had to overcome several challenges. The pandemic restrictions on practice and movement were the biggest one. A lot of their equipment was stuck in Abu Dhabi, where the qualifier competition was to be held last March. However, with lockdowns the world over, the equipment remained there, while the venue of the competition was shifted at the last minute to Oman instead. Getting the equipment to the new venue was a logistical nightmare in itself, requiring the coordination of several countries.
The YAI congratulates its young winners for this historical success and wishes them the best at the Olympic races.
