Four Indian sailors qualify for Tokyo Olympics 2021

Four Indian sailors, in a historic first for the country, have qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The pair of Ganapathy Chengappa, Varun Thakkar, and Vishnu Saravanan made the cut during an ongoing Asian Qualifiers in Oman on April 8, 2021.

This was after Nethra Kumanan on April 7 became the first Indian woman sailor for qualifying for the Olympics in the laser radial event in Mussanah Open Championship. It is an Asian Olympic Qualifying event.

It will also be the first time that India will be competing in three sailing events in the Olympics. So far, the country had competed in only one event in all the earlier Olympic games though two Indian sailors had represented the country on four occasions.

I congratulate Vishnu Saravanan who has qualified for Tokyo Olympic in the Laser Std Class Sailing event at the Mussanah Championships. Our athletes are making a mark in all disciplines! pic.twitter.com/sS7oRKb6sE

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 8, 2021

Key Highlights:

•  Vishnu Saravanan qualified for the games first in Laser Standard Class after he finished the second in the overall standings on April 8.

•  Later, the pair of Thakkar and Chengappa also finished on top of the points table in the 49er class. In the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, the two had won a bronze medal.

•  Laser class is a single sailor event while two sailors make a team in the 49er class.

•  Two sailors can qualify for the Olympics from the laser class events. Only one team can qualify in the 49er class.

Netha Kumanan makes history:

Nethra Kumanan has made history as she became the first Indian woman sailor who has qualified for the Olympics.

The Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju extended his wishes via Twitter to all the qualifiers and particularly mentioned Nethra Kumanan who becomes India’s first-ever female sailor to qualify for the Olympics.

I congratulate Indian athletes Nethra Kumanan, KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar who have qualified for Tokyo Olympic in sailing. I'm particularly proud of the quota of Nethra, who is India's first-ever female sailor to qualify for the Olympics! pic.twitter.com/SwhJoAw1Vo

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 8, 2021

Tokyo Olympics:

Tokyo Olympics will commence on July 23 till August 8, 2021. While, the Paralympics will be taking place from August 24 to September 5, 2021.

The games were earlier scheduled to be held in 2020 but were postponed because of the widespread pandemic which affected sporting events worldwide.