It was the summer of 2011.
A brutal sun, and strong yet friendly winds proved company as a 14-year-old Nethra Kumanan won her very first weekend sailing race at an annual summer camp held by the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association. Back then, though Nethra’s entire weekends were taken over by different sports camps, sailing quickly became dear. It was perhaps that very first race she won among other small campers that led to this instant affinity, she recalls today. “It was interesting to me that a sail, some ropes and a stick could control an entire boat. It was fun to see how the boat responded to the tiniest maneuvers that you make!” recalls Nethra over a phone call amid a much-needed recovery break back home in Chennai.
On April 26, the Chennai sailor secured India’s second Paris Olympics quota in sailing, claiming it under the Emerging Nations Program banner at the Last Chance Regatta, an Olympic qualifier, in Hyeres, France. She was the first Indian woman to qualify for the games in Tokyo 2020, and this is her second stint.
Nethra’s international career shot up in 2014 with an Asian Games qualification. “I had to leave school and start open schooling. Because I was representing India at an early stage in my career, my parents were very supportive and they pushed me with everything they had,” says Nethra.
Chennai’s waters have always been home. “It’s always been incredibly freeing, being able to feel the oneness with the ocean. Chennai’s conditions are especially ideal. We have warm water, very good waves and moderate winds. In Europe, they call it the ‘champagne conditions’. We have the best of everything,” says Nethra. A lot of the early skill building began here, Nethra adds.
The boat that she sails is an ILCA6 class, a single-handed dinghy. “It’s only me on the boat. It really depends on how hard you push. Small movements end in big changes. The more consistent you are with your focus, the better you reap,” says Nethra. The solitary nature of the sport is perhaps its biggest draw, says Nethra. While it means complete control, it also means equal responsibility.
The Last Chance Regatta which helped her clinch the qualification was no cake walk. It was a cold week, she remembers, filled with very long days. “I usually train at Gran Canaria islands off north-western Africa and their waves are massive, like two meters. Two months ago, we moved to the southern coast of France which also happens to be where the Olympics for sailing will take place. In order to get used to the conditions and the weather, we trained at Hyeres along the same coast for a month and a half.”
Now, on the heels of the qualification, Nethra is on a two-week break in Chennai before heading to Marseille for a training camp. In June, there is also the last major international regatta in Germany that serves as a dress rehearsal for the Olympics. This time around, she feels that she is better prepared, and more familiar with the conditions unlike in the Tokyo Games, which was held in the throes of a raging pandemic. “Now, I also know what is expected of me and the extra pressure that comes with a tournament like the Olympics,” she adds.
“If you had asked me a few years back, I would have said it’s the sailing that I enjoy,” she says adding, “But now I will say that it’s the racing that I enjoy more. Using a specific skill to be one metre ahead of someone else is fun. I love competing!” says Nethra.
