Nethra vows to make city proud, make waves at Paris Olympics

CHENNAI: Paris had been a long time coming for Nethra Kumanan from Chennai, who is all set to board her dream flight to the Olympics in a week to join her team in Marseille. Having missed out on early qualifying events, the recently-held regatta in Hyeres, France was Nethra’s last chance, which she made in a nail-biting finish.

“Qualifying for Paris has been on my mind since the Hangzhou Asian Games. For World Sailing, every sailor gets four chances to qualify. We had a fifth because Asia had three spots, with the Asiad counted as one. I had a chance at all of them,” Nethra told DT Next.

Back in Chennai on Monday, Nethra said she didn’t push herself too hard at the last chance regatta; instead, she focused on performing to the best of her abilities and avoiding mistakes, given her impressive top-10 finishes in almost nine races at the tournament. The ‘last-chance’ regatta, as it was aptly called, was indeed the final opportunity. Nethra entered the event believing she could win. “Halfway through, I realised even if I didn’t finish in the top three, I could still make the Emerging Nations Program (ENP) spot,” she said.

Ultimately, Nethra finished in fifth place and secured the third spot allocated to countries in the ENP. Despite making it, she felt disappointed, feeling she could have performed better. “I finished fifth overall, so there were four spots I was not proud of. I could have finished third, but I failed at that. Nevertheless, we keep moving forward,” she said.

Nethra had a consistent outing in recent times, which she believes is crucial, especially in a sport like sailing. “It’s always 10 races plus a medal race, so consistency is key,” she added.

After the final day of racing at Hyeres, where the outcome could have gone either way, Nethra said that she was prepared for whatever results came her way, even discussing plans for the LA Olympics in 2028 if she didn’t make it. Nethra’s Olympic preparations will commence with a two-week camp later this month before she heads to Germany for an event where all qualified countries meet.

“I’ll be heading to Marseille to practice for a month leading up to the games and it’d help me acclimatise to the conditions.”

Nethra finished 35th overall in the women’s laser radial after 10 qualifying races in Tokyo. However, heading into Paris, she feels more mature and confident, understanding what it takes to perform on the big stage.

“I was underprepared for Tokyo. The grandeur of the event was overwhelming. Every time you step onto the stage, there are so many people watching, something I was prepared for,” said Nethra, adding: “Now I know I’m capable of winning, and the next campaign is about bridging the gap between what I know and what I’m capable of.”