Mussanah Open sailing: Vishnu Saravanan gains, Nethra Kumanan holds lead on Day 4

Indian sailors continued enjoying a strong wind in their sails on the fourth day of the Mussanah Open Championship 2021 being held at the Millennium Resort in Mussanah, Oman.

India’s Nethra Kumanan held onto her perch in the Laser Radial event despite her closest challenger, Emma Charlotte Jeanne Savelon of the Netherlands, bagging second and third positions in Tuesday’s two races to close in.

Nethra Kumanan, finished third in the seventh race and fifth in the eight to maintain a two-point net total lead over her Dutch counterpart. Nethra is on 15 while Savelon is on 17 net total points (lower is better).

The day, however, belonged to another Indian, Harshita Tomar. Having slid down to seventh in Laser Radial after disappointing showings on Day 3, the Asian Games bronze medallist bounced back strongly, finishing top in both the races on the day.

Tomar’s double podium finish saw her rise to third with 30 net total points, displacing another Indian Ramya Saravanan (32) to fourth.

Ramya’s brother Vishnu Saravanan, competing in the Laser Standard class, though, moved a place in the opposite direction. He leapfrogged Thailand’s Keerati Bualong to the second spot after third and fourth-place finishes in races seven and eight respectively.

Vishnu Saravanan, with 29 net total, still trails category leader Ryan Lo Jun Han of Singapore by 14 points.

In the 49er class, the Indian team of KC Ganapathy (Helm) and Varun Thakkar (Crew) are still in the lead after 12 races. The two placed seventh, fifth and fourth in Tuesday’s races but averaged well enough to maintain a nine-point gap with the chasing pack.

Indian sailors standings at Mussanah Open after Day 4

Laser Radial class

1. Nethra Kumanan – 15 points net total

3. Harshita Tomar – 30 points net total

4. Ramya Saravanan – 32 points net total

12. Jayalakshmi Sundaravadivel – 77 points net total

Laser Standard class

2. Vishnu Saravanan – 29 points net total

7. Upamanyu Dutta – 52 points net total

10. Mohit Saini – 64 points net total

16. Gitesh – 93 points net total

18. Ram Milan Yadav – 110 points net total

49er class

1. KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar – 42 points net total

10. Prince Noble and Manu Francis – 88 points net total

12. Sandip Jain and Munna Pandit – 96 points net total

49er FX class

4. Ekta Yadav and Ritika Dangi – 37 points net total

RS:X Men class

5. Jerome Savarimuthu – 47 points net total

7. Ebad Ali – 56 points net total

RS:X Women class

3. Ishwariya Ganesh – 25 points net total