Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan secured a spot in the Paris Olympics for the women’s one-person dinghy ILCA 6 event at the Last Chance Regatta in Hyeres, France. She achieved this by finishing fifth with 67 net points, which allowed her to qualify via the Emerging Nation Program (ENP) quota. This quota is awarded to the sailor with the best finish outside the top three among the ENP countries.
The regatta was the final qualification tournament for the Olympics, with a total of 33 sailors competing for three Paris berths (excluding the ENP). Nethra, who has been working tirelessly towards this goal, found success after a series of near misses in previous qualification events.
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Her father, Kumanan, shared his relief and joy at his daughter’s accomplishment, saying, “We have been waiting for this qualification for quite some time. I thought she would qualify at the Asian Games, but she narrowly missed out on winning a quota and a medal. Thankfully, she managed to get through the final qualifying tournament in France.”
During the Last Chance Regatta, Nethra played it safe, avoiding unnecessary risks while maintaining consistent performances. She secured top-10 finishes in nine out of the 10 races. Although she did not place in the top three in any of the individual races, her consistency ensured she would grab the ENP quota. “This time, she was trying to play it safe and did not want to lose points at the start,” her father added. “She tried to stay in the top 10 consistently, which helped her in the end.”
With Vishnu Saravanan already securing a quota in the ILCA 7 event, Nethra’s qualification makes her only the third Indian sailor, after Farokh Tarapore and Vishnu Saravanan, to qualify for multiple Olympic Games. Although Olympic quotas are officially provided to the National Olympic Committee (NOC), it is expected that she will represent India at the Paris Games.
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