New Delhi: His belief at a height after completing the 25-places in the world championship recently – the best ever by India on the Marquee event, the Laser Premier Class of India Sailor Vishnu Saravanan aiming another rare feat – a gold in the Asian Games next year.
India only won one gold in sailing because sports were introduced in 1970 at the Continental Multi-Sport Showpiece through Farokh Tarapore and Zarir Karanjia in Fireball class in 1982.
The 22-year-old Saravanan, who was at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, felt he could win Gold sail both India and first in 40 years in the Asian Hangzhou game next year.
“No less than a gold,” Saravanan told PTI when asked how convinced he was to finish the top in the city of China in 2022.
“I was the best Asian in the ILCA7 world championship in Barcelona (which ended last week) and 2018 ended) and 2018 Asian Games Bronze Winner from Singapore finished behind me.
A great feeling that I can produce the best results by Indians in the World Championship.
“The Asian Games 2018 Gold Medal Ha Jee-min (Korea) and Silver Winner Khairulnizam Afendy (Malaysia) and Chen China He, who was 15 in Tokyo, was not in Barcelona.
But the Asian Games Bronze Medal Ryan Ho (Singapore) and Kazumasa Segawa (Japan), the fourth in Jakarta, around and India occupies its peak comfortably.
“I am number two in Asian rank but I beat Singapore’s top rankings in the World Championship,” said Saravanan, who was with a cruise knot in Mumbai but mainly train in Malta in Europe.
The third year of B.C.com, Saravanan won the National Youth Champion in 2016 and won the Senior Laser Nationals Standard class in 2018.
He won bronze in the Under-21 World Championship in Croatia in 2019.
Finishing 20th.
The Tokyo Olympics saw him jumping from 113 in the world ranking in March last year to 28 at the end of September this year and Saravanan wanted to continue the increase.
“I finished 84th in the last world championship in Sakaiminato City, Japan, in 2019 and 25 this time in Barcelona from 135 competitors.
My target at the next world championship (in May 2022) in Mexico is the finishing top-10,” he said .
For now, this is a season and Saravanan competition will focus on training before the international event began in April next year.
“There is no competition from December to March.
So, I will train hard in this period.
I will have several competitions from April and will go to the World Championship and then to the Asian Games.” Asked whether he was sure to be chosen for the next Asian match, Saravanan said, “Yes, more or less.
I am the number one in the country after two trial rounds.” The third will occur in May next year and I will do it not to take part in it because it clashes with the world championship, but my position in the second trial, namely the first position, will be counted.
So I have to be chosen, “he said, just adding one athlete from a country will take part in the sailing event at the Asian Games.
Saravanan said he had not faced financial problems because he was included in the Olympic podium scheme of Indian authority targets, besides support from his employer of the Indian army And the Indian Yachting Association.