Tokyo: The Indian sailing team reached Tokyo on Tuesday becoming the first contingent from the country to set their base for the Olympics which begin on July 23. Varun Thakkar, Ganapathy Chengappa, Vishnu Saravanan, and Nethra Kumanan along with their coaches landed at the Haneda Airport, the pictures of which were shared by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Kumanan will compete in the laser radial event while Saravanan in the laser standard event. The duo of Thakkar and Chengappa will be participating in the 49er event. The sailing event will start on July 25. This is also the first time four sailors will represent India at the Summer Games and also the first instance where the country also compete in three events in history.
The final countdown to #Tokyo2020 has begun!
With 11 days to go, our Sailing Team comprising of @VarunThakkar100, KC Ganapathy, Vishnu Saravanan & @nettienetty along with their coaches will be reaching Tokyo, @Japan tomorrow.#Cheer4India
1/2 pic.twitter.com/fRgQ94QZN3— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) July 12, 2021
The sailors had been training in various countries across Europe prior to their departure for Tokyo, which was funded by the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). While Kumanan chose Spain for her training, Thakkar and Chengappa were preparing in Portugal. Saravanan was in Malta for his Olympics preparations.
Kumanan qualified for Tokyo Olympics at the Mussanah Open Championship which an Asian Olympic qualifying event. She also became the first Indian woman sailor to make the Olympics cut. Saravanan, along with Chengappa and Thakkar also booked their Tokyo spots in the same event in Oman.
However, unlike other athletes who are travelling from India, these sailors won’t face stricter restrictions imposed on athletes arriving from India due to COVID, because they arrived in Tokyo from Europe. Athletes travelling from India will have to undergo daily COVID tests for daily seven days prior to their departure to Tokyo.
