"You have to push that level of comfort where you can do your best" - Vishnu Saravanan banks on 'fighter mentality' ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics
Vishnu Saravanan is looking forward to continuing his fearless approach when he takes part in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He booked his spot at this year's Summer Games when he finished 26th (with a net score of 125) among 152 participants from 53 nations at the 2024 ILCA7 men’s World championships in Adelaide.
Vishnu made his Olympic debut in Tokyo, where he finished 22nd after six races in Enoshima, Japan. Despite competing at that stage for the first time, he recalled adopting a fearless approach to the event.
"In Tokyo, I was a bit fearless. I just went 'OK, it's my first Olympics. I don't really care about the results. So I just want to sail my best and see where I land up.' And I did ok," he said in a virtual press conference.
The 25-year-old stated that the key to having confidence while taking on veteran sailors is to not get overwhelmed by them or the occasion.
"That fearlessness kind of taught me like you can perform much better by not putting yourself underneath some of the veteran sailors. You really have to push that level of comfort where you can do your best and that's what I think I improved this season as well," he said.
"Because I was more confident and I had more of kind of a fighter mentality where I really wanted to beat these guys before they quit," he added.
Vishnu Saravanan on Paris 2024 Olympics: "The biggest challenge would be the conditions"
In preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Vishnu Saravanan has been training in Marseille for the past month, where he has had the opportunity to get an idea of the venue that will host the competition in less than two months.
Vishnu believes that the biggest challenge at this year's quadrennial event will be the conditions. He hopes to make a good start as it could give him a tactical advantage.
"The biggest challenge would be the conditions because it's so random. If you see the map of Marseille, it's like a big bay, like marine drive, but with cliffs on the edges," he said.
"So when the wind comes in different directions, it's very challenging because there's a lot of unpatternised movements of the wind, which is very unpredictable. I have to have a good start to have the tactical advantage," he added.
The World No. 17 most recently competed at the Europa Cup in Spain as well as a tournament in France, where he finished 11th.