Who is Vishnu Saravanan - the wind behind India’s sailing dreams
The Asian Games medal-winning Indian sailor competed at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.
Sailing
Slowly but surely, Vishnu Saravanan is establishing himself as one of the most notable names in Indian sailing.
After representing India at Tokyo 2020, Vishnu Saravanan went on to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics as well, becoming only the second man to represent India in sailing at multiple Olympic Games after Farokh Tarapore.
Vishnu competes in the men’s one person dinghy or Laser Standard (ILCA7) category. The ILCA7 is a category within the ILCA (International Laser Class Association) sailing class. The Laser Standard is a small, lightweight boat with a single mast.
Born on February 24, 1999, in Vellore, a town in Tamil Nadu, Vishnu Saravanan was introduced to sailing at a young age by his retired armyman father Ramachandran Saravanan, a former sailor who was unable to pursue the sport professionally. However, he saw some talent in his two children - Vishnu and Ramya.
Vishnu learnt sailing under his father’s guidance at the age of nine at Army Yachting Node, Mumbai. When he was 17, Vishnu was selected by the Madras Engineers Group (MEG) Boys Sports Company as a cadet in 2015. The teenager’s talent was soon apparent.
Vishnu Saravanan started winning multiple medals at the junior national events. He became a youth national champion in 2016. That year, he also won silver at a Hong Kong series and was then enrolled in the Indian Army as a Naib Subedar the following year. The Indian Army proved instrumental in supporting the youngster’s career.
Vishnu Saravanan’s Olympic and Asian Games high
Vishnu Saravanan won his first senior national championship in 2018. By then, he shifted to Malta to train at the Sail Coach Academy under Olympian Alexandr Denisiuc of Moldova.
The training soon paid off as Vishnu travelled to the Laser Under-21 World Championships in 2019 in Croatia and won the bronze medal. It set him up for the Olympic qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in March 2020.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered. The young sailor utilised the time working on his mental conditioning with Irishman Trevor Millar, who founded the Sail Coach Academy in Malta where Vishnu trained at the time.
It kept Vishnu ready for a return to international competition and helped when the Mussanah Open Championship 2021 was announced as an Asian Olympic sailing qualifier.
The Indian sailor produced a clutch finish in the final medal race to finish with the silver behind Singapore’s Ryan Lo Jun Han. The second-placed finish also ensured he secured the second Asian berth on offer for the Tokyo Olympics at the Oman meet.
Before the medal race started, Vishnu was third in the standings.
His sister Ramya Saravanan was also in the mix in the Laser Radial category but finished sixth to miss the cut by a few points.
Competing in his maiden Olympics at Tokyo 2020, Saravanan finished 20th in a field of 35. He was the second-best Asian in the competition after the Republic of Korea’s Jeemin Ha.
In 2022, Vishnu Saravanan became the continental champion in the ILCA7 category after winning the gold medal at the Asian Sailing Championships in Abu Dhabi.
A year later, Vishnu added another feather to his cap, winning the bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.
Vishnu narrowly missed out on a medal and a Paris 2024 quota after finishing fourth at the 2023 Asian Sailing Championships held in Thailand but it wasn’t long before the Tamil Nadu sailor secured the much-desired quota for his country.
At the ILCA 7 Men's World Championship 2024 in Adelaide, Australia, Vishnu Saravanan finished 26th in a field of 152. The position placed him fifth among sailors eligible to secure quotas for the Paris 2024 Olympics and with seven berths on offer, India’s participation in sailing at the Paris Summer Games was locked.
At Paria 2024 Olympics, Vishnu claimed 18th place in the men’s dinghy with a net score of 114.
Vishnu Saravanan medals and achievements
- Two-time Olympian (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024)
- National champion - 2017 to 2023
- Bronze medal at 2019 U21 World Championships in Croatia
- Silver medal at 2021 Mussanah Open Olympic Qualifiers
- Finished 20th at Tokyo 2020 Olympics (2nd best among Asians)
- Gold medal at 2022 Asian Sailing Championships in Abu Dhabi
- Bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou