India’s Nethra Kumanan secured her maiden Asian Games medal on Friday, clinching the bronze in the women’s dinghy event at the sailing competition here to cap a remarkable fourth appearance at the continental showpiece.

The 29-year-old two-time Olympian from Chennai finished third with an overall score of 14 points, behind Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery, who won gold with five points, and Singapore’s Jania Ang, who took silver with 13 points.

Sailing follows a points-based system in which a competitor earns points according to their finishing position in each race.

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The sailor with the lowest aggregate score at the end of the regatta wins.

Nethra Finally Gets Asian Games Podium

Nethra, who had competed at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Asian Games, produced a strong finish in the final two races.

She won one of the races and finished sixth in the other, adding seven points to the seven she had accumulated during the qualification races to finish with 14 overall.

The podium marked a breakthrough for Nethra, who had endured heartbreak at previous editions. She finished fourth at two of her three previous Asian Games appearances, narrowly missing out on a medal.

The Chennai sailor, who represented India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, finally converted her consistent performances at the continental level into a podium finish.

Vishnu Saravanan Finishes Fourth

In the men’s event, India’s Vishnu Saravanan narrowly missed out on a medal despite an impressive finish to his campaign.

The 27-year-old Olympian finished second in both of his final two races but ended fourth overall with 21 points. His qualification score of 17 points left him just outside the podium.

Korea’s Jeemin Ha won the gold with nine points, while Hong Kong, China’s Nicholas Halliday took silver with 11. Malaysia’s Mohd Khairulnizam finished third with 14 points.

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Saravanan had won the bronze medal at the previous edition of the Asian Games.

More Sailing Medals For India

India had already added two sailing medals to its tally on Thursday.

Manu Francis and Kurisinkal Noble won the silver medal in the men’s skiff event, while Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma secured bronze in the women’s competition.