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Kumanan and Saravanan seek to soak in the Olympics atmosphere in Tokyo
Buoyed by training stints in Europe, young Indian’s sailors though say 2024 Paris will be the real deal.
Nethra Kumanan and Vishnu Saravanan drew curious glances from sailors in Europe when they had first gone there for training. The common question, Saravanan recalled, was, “Why do you come here? You have great sea conditions to sail in India.”
Both had no answers. Europe may not have the best of sea and weather conditions for sailing throughout the year but it is still a hotbed for the sport. The two young Indian sailors knew there was no better place to learn the craft. Kumanan was off to Gran Canaria, Spain, and trained under two-time Olympian Tamas Eszes for almost two years. Saravanan went to Malta and honed his skills at the Sail Coach Academy under Alexandr Denisiuc.
The experience helped them to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. For the first time Indian sailors have qualified in three events—Kumanan (Laser Radial), Saravanan (Laser Standard) and pair of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar (49er) - in the Olympics at the Mussanah Sailing Championship (Asian & Africa Olympic Qualifier Event) in Oman this month.
Kumanan, 23, and Saravanan, 22, spoke on their journeys during a free-flowing conversation organised by the Sports Authority of India.
It helped that Saravanan, a Naib Subedar, was supported by the Army. “It is an expensive sport. If I didn’t have the support of the Army, I wouldn’t be sailing now. My dad is an (retired) Armyman and a sailor himself. I am living his dream. I know the struggles so I want to prove the point. Every sailor has the same point. Nobody knows what sailing is but we will change that,” says Saravanan.
“We have great sea conditions to sail, and a long coastline. The weather is good and much warmer than Europe. We need to change the overall picture in sailing and I am talking about 10 years from now. There is no lack of talent and at the 2028 Olympics, definitely we will be looking for medals,” he said.
For Kumanan, the sport took a backseat in 2016 when she did not qualify for the Rio Olympics. She felt demotivated and funds were drying up.
“I was much younger at that point and for almost two years I spent a lot of time and money from family. I put all of that and I was disappointed that I could not perform. So, I packed up my bag and stepped back. That was the time my dad quit his job and started his own. That took some time, so I had to step away even though I didn’t want to, honestly. The national coach was changed and we didn’t have much support from the federation that year,” she said.
She got back to the sport a year later and training in Gran Canaria among world champions and Olympic medallists helped her improve.
“It made a huge difference to my sailing, learning from people who are already established at the top level. I learnt their routines, how they approach training and how they go about it.”
The training stint in Europe was an eye-opener for Saravanan too. He said he felt like a novice on the first day and was in tears.
“I didn’t know the boat could go so fast. I was demotivated and I was crying. Then I started to learn from them and implement those things in my sailing. At the end of that training camp, I was able to match 5 of the 10 speed tests with them. I realised the boat speed has to be 100 per cent all around the race course because our sport is not a sprint, it is a marathon. We have six days of racing and 12 races. Each race is of 50 minutes, for us to put our mind and body together,” he said.
After their breakthrough performance, the Olympic-bound sailors have been inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Before the Asian and African Olympic Qualifier, the team’s training camp in Oman was funded to the tune of ₹1.29 crore by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
"We keep needing new equipment and it’s expensive. This (TOPS funding) will help us in getting equipment and in training,” said Saravanan.
As for the Tokyo Olympics, the sailors said they wanted to use the opportunity as a stepping stone for the future.
“It is a huge step for all of us and for me I want to just go, have fun and do my best without that pressure. I want to see at this level what it is. Just learn about the atmosphere of the Games so when it does come down to Paris, we have a medal chance and we have the experience to back up,” she said.
Saravanan is also realistic about his chances and has his own target to accomplish in Tokyo. “I would be happy to get a few top 10 finishes and finish in 50 per cent of the races. I am not there yet and guys who need to take pressure will take it and make mistakes. We can just use the situation in our side and get the best out of it,” he said.
