Tokyo Olympics sailing: Vishnu Saravanan 14th, Nethra Kumanan 27th after opening day qualifying
Nethra Kumanan finished 33rd and 16th in two races in the women’s laser radial category while Vishnu Saravanan ended 14th in his sole men’s laser race.
Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan finished 33rd and 16th in her two qualifying races in the women’s laser radial category at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
On her Olympics debut, Nethra Kumanan was placed 40th after the first two marks at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour.
Nethra Kumanan - the first female Indian sailor to qualify for the Olympics - then made up seven places before the third mark, rising to 33rd. She held on to the position after the fourth and last mark, finishing 3.02 seconds behind race winner Cristina Pujol Bajo.
Nethra performed better in the second qualifying race, finishing 16th - 2.34 seconds behind winner Svenja Weger of Germany. Nethra Kumanan sits 27th in the overall standings.
Fellow Olympic debutant Vishnu Saravanan, meanwhile, finished 14th in Race 1 of the men’s laser category, 2:24 seconds behind race winner Jean Baptiste Bernaz of France.
Vishnu Saravanan was 25th after the first two marks but climbed 10 places before the third mark and eventually finished in 14th.
Vishnu’s second qualifying race, originally scheduled for Sunday, was postponed to Monday due to bad weather.
Both Nethra Kumanan and Vishnu Saravanan will take part in 10 qualifying races and have to be placed in the top-10 overall to qualify for the final in their respective categories.
The third and fourth qualifying races for both Indian sailors - in addition to the second race for Vishnu Saravanan - will take place on Monday.