Adelaide: Indian sailor Vishnu Saravanan made a significant achievement by securing the first Paris Olympic Quota for India in the sport with a 26th-place finish at the World ILCA7 Championship on Wednesday.
He finished at the fifth spot in the non-qualified sailors ranking at the event which was offering seven quota places for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Saravanan qualified for the Olympics in the fourth qualification event after missing out to do so in the World Championships and Asian Games last year.
Saravanan procured five top-ten finishes in a row but he fell out of the medal race in the last three races. However, in spite of falling out of contention for a medal, an Olympic Qupta was secured by the sailor.
The 2023 World Sailing Championships had 16 Paris Quota places on offer but Vishnu had finished on 23rd spot missing out by just seven positions. He had a good outing at the Asian Games winning a bronze medal but that wasn't enough to get an entry pass into the Olympics.
Asian Championships in December last year was the latest event where he had a chance to qualify for the Olympics. However, he narrowly missed the quota finishing the event at the fourth place.
The other Indian sailors will have an opportunity to book their berth in the Paris Olympics via Last Chance Regatta tournament which is to be played in April this year in France. India had four representations in the last edition of the Olympics, but they will be aiming to increase their number this time around.
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