Who is Nethra Kumanan? Meet the sailor who has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics
At the Last Chance Regatta in Hyeres, France, Nethra Kumanan clinched India’s second quota in sailing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Vishnu Saravanan already secured his spot at the ILCA 7 Men's World Championship in Australia in January.
Despite finishing fifth (67 net points) in the women's dinghy category (ILCA 6) at the Olympic sailing qualifier, Nethra bagged the quota under the Emerging Nations Program banner.
After her qualification for this year's quadrennial event was confirmed, her father expressed satisfaction with the result as she had fallen short of doing so at several tournaments in recent months.
"We have been waiting for this (qualification) for quite some time. I thought she would qualify at the Asian Games itself, but she somehow missed out on winning a quota and a medal as well," her father told the Times of India.
"She narrowly missed out on securing a quota in the next few qualification tournaments (ILCA World Championships and Asian Championships). Thankfully, she managed to get through the final qualifying tournament in France."
Who is Nethra Kumanan?
Nethra Kumanan was introduced to sailing at the age of 12 at a summer camp organized by the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association in 2009. Despite playing other sports (tennis, basketball, and cycling) and having a keen interest in Bharatanatyam (an Indian classical dance), she took to sailing quickly and fully focused on the sport.
The Chennai native showed promise from the start. She won the national championships twice and finished as the runner-up twice. Her success translated to the international stage too, as she finished on the podium at the India International Regatta in 2014.
Nethra has been a trendsetter in Indian sailing. At the Hempel World Cup Series in Miami in January 2020, she clinched a bronze medal to become the first Indian woman to win a medal in the sport. She has previously represented the country at several international events, including the 2014 and 2018 editions of the Asian Games.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old finished 35th overall in the women’s laser radial after 10 qualifying races, failing to make the cut for the final.
With her qualification to the Paris Olympics confirmed, she is set to become only the third Indian sailor (after Farokh Tarapore and Vishnu Saravanan) and the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for multiple Olympic Games.