India's sailors shine with one silver, two bronze medals

Indian sailor Vishnu Sarvanan won a bronze, the country's first-ever medal in the men's dinghy ILCA-7 event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday.

Sarvanan finished with a net score of 34 points to miss the silver medal by just one point in the gruelling 11-race competition.

South Korea's Jeemin HA took the second spot with 33 points. Singapore's Jun Han Ryan Lo claimed the gold with a net score of 26.

Lack of wind, however, denied India a medal in women's single dinghy ILCA-6 event where Nethra Kumanan had to settle for a disappointing fourth place finish after race No 12, which was to be the final one in the category, was cancelled.

After the penultimate race, Nethra (41 net points) was three points behind Singapore's Jing Hua Victoria Chan (38).

But she eventually failed to secure a podium finish as race 12 could not be held and the event was cancelled.

Nevertheless, the Indian sailors matched their 2018 Asian Games feat of one silver and two bronze medals.

Earlier on Tuesday, 17-year-old Neha Thakur grabbed a silver, while Eabad Ali claimed a bronze, India's first-ever medal in the men's windsurfer RS:X event.

In sailing, the competitor's worst score (which is equivalent to their respective positions) from all the races is subtracted from the total points to determine the net score.

The one with the lowest net score is adjudged the winner.

Sarvanan had a total score of 48 and his worst race was No. 8, where he finished last in the 13-competitor field after retiring because of a technical foul.

So, he ended up with 14 points with the addition of one penalty-point in race No 8.

Sarvanan, thus, finished with 34 net points by subtracting 14 points from his overall score of 48, just one-point behind Jeemin, who took the silver.

A reigning National champion since 2017, Sarvanan finished second as the second-best Asian at the Tokyo Olympics by virtue of his 20/25 overall finish.

Sarvanan, who learnt sailing under his father's guidance at the age of nine at Army Yachting Node in Mumbai, won a silver in the 2019 Under-21 World Championships in Croatia.

He also won a silver in 2021 Olympic Qualifiers Asian Championships.