Nethra Kumanan, the first India woman sailor, qualifies for Olympics

Nethra Kumanan, the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, is training hard with Hungarian coach Tamas Eszes, a two-time Olympian. The second-year engineering student of SRM College will be India's hope in the sport of sailing in the Tokyo Olympics.

Chennai: Sailing in infinite waters, strength to fight the high waves, willingness to reach the shores at any cost and in the face of all challenges – these are all the characteristics that made Nethra Kumanan stand out on the top in the fiercest sport of Sailing. She is now credited with being the first and only female sailor who is going to participate in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Nethra's journey started from a humble beginning...

It was the summer of 2009 during which the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association was organizing a summer camp in the sport of sailing for children under 14 years of age. Netra's mother inducted their 12-year-old daughter into the camp. Little did she know that their child would register numerous successes in this sport. The girl, who had a lot of fun in sailing, attracted everyone's attention by becoming the first female sailor to win a medal at the national and international level and has now qualified for the prestigious Olympics.

By competing in the ‘Laser Radial class’ event at the Asian Qualifiers round in Oman, Nethra made history, finishing at the top with 21 points and getting qualified directly for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics regardless of the final result.

Her passion and parents encouragements...

What started as a fun activity soon turned into the love of life, for Netra. The waves of the sea, in particular, fascinated her immensely. She put aside all other sports she had been learning until then, such as tennis, cycling, and basketball. She left behind arts and Bharatanatyam too. She decided that studies and sailing were the only two goals of her life.

"Traveling in the sea with the waves blowing against my face was quite impressive to me. So I wanted to choose this as a career," said Nethra. But this game requires a lot of physical strength and mental ability. Concentration is equally important. Nethra attained a gradual grip on all of these attributes.

She said, "My parents recognized my interest. However, they have also explained the difficulties in this field. I let them know about my passion and also promised that I shall overcome all these difficulties. I have also started following dietary rules to stay physically fit".

Noticing their daughter's will, her parents encouraged her to take up the sport. Especially, her father VC Kumanan, who runs a software company, used to devote his precious time to her daughter's passion. That's why Netra says she shall strive to make them feel proud of her, at any cost. She is currently studying in the second year of Engineering at SRM College, Chennai and is undergoing training with Hungarian coach Tamas Eszes, a two-time Olympian.

She faced some serious challenges on the way...

While continuing her studies, Nethra aimed at doing well in the Olympics. It is hard to travel continuously for hours at sea. It takes a lot of physical ability to withstand the sun and sail against the waves. A sailor will have to go alone to the sea. They will have to travel with the navigator using the smallest boat. I have considered all these as a challenge and concentrated on increasing my capabilities. Over a period, I had overcome all such obstacles encountered in the process.

However, an unexpected problem arose while going to the Olympics’ qualifying competitions. The boat was wrecked on its way when being transported from Abu Dhabi Harbour to Musannah Sports City in Oman. Nethra added, "We didn’t know how to tackle the situation at that time. There was no boat for me to participate in the competitions. In spite of the same, I had borrowed the boat of Ram Milan Yadav, one of my teammates and participated in the competition, which I eventually won".

Nethra wants to make the Country Proud...

Nethra got the opportunity to participate in the international competitions held in Chennai for the first time in the year 2014. She then competed in the 2018 Asian Games and also in last year's World Series in Miami. For this, she has been training with Hungarian coach Tamas Eszes. "I will use this experience to compete with the best athletes in the competitions to be held in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics as well as Paris Olympics in 2024. My constant inspiration will be that my success shall be a proud moment to both my parents and my nation", said the Olympic qualifier.