Saravanan setting sights on return to Olympics

Saravanan, one of four Indian sailors to compete at Tokyo 2020, sits 29^th in the ILCA 7 standings after the opening day of the Olympic Test Event on the Mediterranean coast, his cause not helped by a yellow flag at the start of race two.

The 24-year-old will hope for an upturn in fortunes as the week goes on as he continues to build towards the upcoming World Championships, where vital Paris 2024 quota places will be up for grabs.

“It was really nice to sail here on Olympic waters,” he said. “I’m excited to do something special but at the same time you have to be in the moment and this was one of those situations as the wind was all over the place.

“The World Championships will see a lot more boats from the same nations and the quality will be really high.

“It will be tough to put the small fleet tactics into big fleet tactics but you have to believe in your speed and go through proper preparations.

“I have been doing well in my preparations and hopefully that pays off at The Hague. My goal is to be in the top 16 nations, the criteria to qualify for Paris 2024 – hopefully I do that on the first go so I don’t have more pressure on the other qualification events.

“It [qualifying] would be really nice, I get goosebumps whenever I think about it.

“I just have to trust the process, be in the moment, that’s the most important thing you can do. You just have to sail your waves and not let anything take over your thoughts.”

Saravanan was introduced to sailing by his father, to whom he dedicated his qualification for Tokyo and credited him with providing “a pathway to the Olympics.”

 

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A multiple national champion at junior level, Saravanan won his first senior domestic title in 2018 and made his mark on the international stage the following year with bronze at the Under-21 World Championships.

He likens the ILCA class to “playing chess on water” and though there’s another sport he has to quell comparisons to when trying to spread the word in his native country, Saravanan hopes to keep blazing a trail to inspire the next generation.

“We have a population of 1.2 billion but there are few sailors compared to cricket and other sports,” he said.

“Sailing is growing and it was really nice to have more than one boat in the last Olympics, when we had lots of media attention.

“For them, it was something different. They always thought sailing was rowing, so I had to explain the differences, that we use the wind and don’t use oars.

“Now they have a better understanding of the sport and more kids are keen to learn about it. We have a big coastline, it’s really good to sail in and we have warm water.”

Saravanan finished 20^th on his Olympic debut in an event won by Matt Wearn, one of many in the ILCA class who the Indian tries to learn from at weeks like this one in Marseille.

“It’s about boat placement and making the right decision, you have to be first to the mark and you have to position your boat in the right place at the right time,” he said.

“Matt is really good at that. I look at him sometimes when we’re racing and it’s amazing how he thinks and his thought processes.

“He can turn a bad position into a good position by making a little boat movement. He is really quick and his brain work is amazing.”