Nethra Kumanan, scripted history by becoming the country’s first woman to directly qualify for the Olympics in sailing. The 26-year-old Chennai-born had also made the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo. She bagged a bronze medal at the Hempel Sailing World Cup Series in Miami in 2020. Nethra found her passion for sailing at a tender age during a summer camp at the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association held in 2010, as per an official release. She pursued her Olympic dreams by balancing her athletic career with academic pursuits, having completed a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Nethra has participated in the Asian Games in 2014 and 2018. At the Tokyo Olympics, she had registered the 35th position. In January 2020, Nethra emerged as the first Indian woman to earn a medal (bronze) at the Sailing World Cup.
Age: 26
Sports/Discipline: Women Sailing
First Olympic Games: Tokyo Olympics, 2020
Major Achievements:
Tokyo Olympics (2020) – 35th position
World ILCA6 Championship (2024) – 41st position
World ILCA6 Championship (2023) – 70th position
Last Chance Regatta – 5th position
Asian Sailing Championship (2023) – 7th position
Asian Games (2022) – 4th position
Asian Sailing Championship (2022) – Silver Medal
Europa Cup Hungary (2021) – Bronze Medal
Asian Games (2018) – 4th position
Paris Olympics Qualification:
Nethra earned the quota for the Olympics 2024 under the Emerging Nations Program banner at the Last Chance Regatta, an Olympic sailing qualifier, held in France earlier this year in April. With this, the Tokyo Olympian secured India’s second quota in sailing for the Paris Olympics. The Last Chance Regatta was the final qualifying event in sailing for the upcoming edition of the Olympics, as per Olympics.com.
Recent Performances
In one of her recent performances, Nethra participated in the Last Chance Regatta, an Olympic sailing qualifier, held in France in April this year. Featuring in the competition in the women’s dinghy (ILCA 6), the Indian sailor succeeded in bagging 67 net points to register a fifth-place finish on the overall leaderboard. She earned the Olympic quota as the top performer among sailors from the Emerging Nations Program (ENP) who did not obtain the quota.
Event Date
1st August, Thursday – Sailing – Men’s & Women’s Dinghy Race 1-1
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