Nethra Kumanan, India’s sole woman sailor with an Olympian tag, doesn’t mince words while describing her Hangzhou Asian Games outing, where she slipped out of a podium finish and missed out on a Paris Games quota.

“The Asian Games was a huge slap in the face, I’m not going to lie,” she said. It was also not the only event she went without securing the Olympic quota over the last one year. Until at the “last minute” of the Last Chance Regatta, an Olympic qualifying event whose name sums up its context, Nethra grabbed it. By virtue of finishing among the top three sailors from the Emerging Nations Program (ENP) in the women’s dinghy ILCA 6 in Hyeres, France last Friday — the Indian was fifth overall — Nethra has her second Olympics appearance in Paris in sight.

“It feels incredible,” Nethra said over phone from Chennai. “It’s mostly been a relief, because I’ve known I’ve been capable of this since last year.”

For the Tokyo Games in 2021, Nethra had earned her spot finishing as the best Asian in the continental qualifying event. For the Paris Games, four qualifying events came and went — two World Championships, the Asian Championships and the Asian Games — with no quota earned. The closest she came was at the second Worlds this year where she was “two points away from making it”. The long road to get to where she believes she deserved to did test her patience and mental resolve.

“It’s been a lot of reflection, a lot of work. It’s been hard dealing with it, but I’m happy I found a way,” she said.

The fourth-place finish at last year’s Asian Games during this phase stung harder. And with the help of her psychologist drove her deep into introspection mode.

“I’ve always been someone who has to work hard in how to deal with my mind and stress. Sailing is a lot about on-spot decisions and quick analysis. So, if you’re not mentally calm, open and aware, which is my strength in training, it does become a challenge in competitions.

“But at some point, I had to accept that this is the hand I’ve been dealt, and I had to deal with it. I chose to look at what I want to achieve going forward. I know I was capable of it; it was about working more on my patience and dealing with setbacks. It’s been a process — a positive one, a gradual one — of personal growth. But I’m happy I’ve come out of it stronger,” Nethra said.

The results may not have been too flattering but Nethra believes she is a more skilful and experienced sailor heading into Paris than she was three years ago in Tokyo, where she finished 35th.

“I know I am capable of results in the top half at these Games,” Nethra said. “My level has certainly improved. I’m faster, a lot more experienced. I’ve spent a lot of time working on my basics, which will help me get more consistency. It’s about knowing what I can do, validating those things and pushing it till the last minute of the race.”

World Sailing’s ENP programme, under whose banner Nethra and more than double the number from Tokyo earned the quota for Paris, has been “a huge help" in her qualification quest, primarily through financial support. The programme, meant for sailors from nations where the sport is not developed, also provides coaching help before and during these events. Nethra, though, has the trust in her group.

Her training base in the Spanish island of Gran Canaria and Hungarian coach Tamas Eszes unchanged, there’s been an addition of a French coach in Marseille, where sailing events will be held at the Olympics. That’s where Nethra is headed after a two-week break at home. A training camp in Marseille will be followed by another block in Gran Canaria. She will test her level alongside other qualified sailors in an event in Germany in June before checking into Marseille again a month before the Olympics.

“I feel like I will be better prepared for this Olympics than I was in Tokyo because I’ll be training at the venue and have the inputs of a local coach,” Nethra said. “The first one was an incredible experience, and that’s what I took from it. Now I know more of what to expect in terms of pressure and grandeur. I’ll be focussed more on performance in Paris rather than just being at the Olympics.”

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