Who is Nethra Kumanan? All you need to know about the Indian sailor who competed in women's dinghy at Paris Olympics 2024
Born on August 21, 1997, in Chennai, Nethra Kumanan is a pioneering Indian sailor who competed in the women's dinghy event at the Paris Olympics 2024. She is the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympics in sailing.
Nethra was also the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Hempel Sailing World Cup Series 2020 in Miami after she secured a bronze. More significantly, she's the first Indian sailor to get a direct entry into the Summer Olympics.
Nethra Kumanan, who has completed her B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering and pursuing an MBA, started her international sailing career in 2013 at Mussanah, Oman. She has represented India at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea and the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. While the 26-year-old finished seventh in the 2014 edition, she was fourth in the 2018 edition.
Nethra qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by excelling at the Mussanah Open Championship in Oman. In the 10-series race event, she finished second overall in the medal round. The Chennai-born has won over 20 National and International Sailing Championships medals.
Nethre Kumanan finished 35th overall in the women's Laser Radial category out of 44 participants in Tokyo. Although she couldn't make it to the finals, her performance and participation were great achievements for Indian sailing.
Nethra qualified for the Paris Olympics by securing a quota spot under the Emerging Nations Programme at the Last Chance Regatta, held in Hyeres, France, in April this year. In the Olympic sailing qualifier, she finished fifth overall in the women's Laser Radial sailing with 67 net points.
Nethra Kumanan fails to qualify for the women’s dinghy medal race at Paris Olympics 2024
Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan, competing in the women’s dinghy event at the Paris Olympics 2024, could not secure a spot in the medal race. After the ninth qualification race on Monday, August 5, she finished in 21st place, missing the cut for the finals.
Entering the ninth race, Nethra stood in 24th place overall. Despite an impressive 10th-place finish in this race, she could not break into the top 10 overall standings. Her struggles in the competition were largely due to poor showings in the earlier races, especially three, four, and five, where she finished 27th, 28th, and 28th, respectively.