Five things to know about Olympic-bound sailor Nethra Kumanan

The 23-year-old is the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for the Games.

Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan placed herself into history books when she qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics by registering a top-placed finish at the Mussanah Open, held in the Gulf of Oman.

She is the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for the Olympics. Nethra Kumanan is about to start her Olympic journey and aims to make a serious push by the 2024 edition in Paris. We take a look at five interesting tidbits about the sailing prodigy.

5. Her coach is former Olympian Tamas Eszes

Behind her current success is the Hungarian Tamas Eszes. The two-time Olympian has an enviable track record as a coach leading several sailors to success using his innovative strategies. The Hungarian trained with Nethra in Gran Canaria in Spain here the Indian finally managed to blossom.

It was the Hungarian’s advice that led the Indian sailor to Olympic qualification. Instead of trying to achieve first place in all races, she tried to maintain consistency by remaining in the top fleet for all of them. This consistency and performance under pressure can be attributed to her one and a half-year stint under Eszes.

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4. Consistent performer on the national stage

Before grabbing the spotlight on the international stage, she enjoyed routine success in national competitions. Her achievements in India are remarkable. Her first major milestone came in 2014 when she won the Bronze medal in the Laser Radial event at the India International Regatta in Chennai. In 2015, she then bagged the top spot at the YAI Senior National championship held in Mumbai, before winning another gold at the Multiclass Senior Nationals in Mumbai.

2017 saw her bag the silver medal in the Multiclass Sailing Championship in Bhopal as well as the Silver in the YAI National Championship. She followed that with another silver at the YAI Senior National championship in 2018.

Her presence and success in the national stage at a young age served as a solid platform for her ascent into international competitions.

3. Engineer by day, sailor by night

The Indian athlete is not just a sailor. She is also a second-year engineering student at the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Tamil Nadu. Although, her current sailing exploits have dampened her studies, she expects to graduate from college no matter what. Her multitasking exploits are a testament to her will and quest for excellence.

2. First sailor to earn direct qualification

When Nethra Kumanan finished first in the Mussanah Open, on the shores of the Gulf of Oman, she scripted history. The Chennai-born athlete became the first-ever sailor, man or woman, from the subcontinent to earn direct qualification to any Olympics. Her remarkably young age and high-flying achievements mean that this is just the beginning of a glorious sailing career.

Her performances over the course of her career will uncharted waters for Indian sports, but will no doubt push more and more youngsters into sailing.

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1. World Cup Sailing Medal

On January 25, she made her first step into the sailing folklore of India when she won the bronze medal at the Sailing World Cup. She finished third behind Erika Reineke of the US and Vaselia Karachaliou of Greece in the Hempei World Series conducted in Miami, United States.

While finishing third, the youngster became the first ever Indian woman to win a World Cup medal in sailing. This achievement came after a period of great effort when she rethought her whole process after finishing 4th in the same event in the 2018 Jakarta Asian games, thereby missing out on a spot for the Olympics then.

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