Indian sailor Vishnu Saravanan won a gold medal in the men's one-person dinghy (ILCA7) class at the Europa Cup 2024 sailing competition on March 10 in Mallorca, Spain.
The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) is a sailing class that includes the ILCA7 division. The Laser Standard is a single-masted, lightweight, compact boat.
Saravanan finished first with 17 net points in the 91-boat competition. Willem Wiersema of the Netherlands also scored the same points, but Saravanan prevailed in the category on a technicality. Held by the Reial Club Nautic Port de Pollenca, Australia's Lawson McAullay took home the bronze medal with 22 net points.
During the meet, Saravanan won two of his seven races. A record number of sailors competed in this year's Europa Cup, with 334 sailing amid difficult circumstances that included wind speeds ranging from 15 to +30 knots for the duration of the competition's three-day duration.
At the ILCA 7 Men's World Championship 2024 in Australia this January, Saravanan made history by becoming the first Indian to earn a sailing quota for the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
The 25-year-old placed 20th out of 35 competitors in his previous Olympic competition in Tokyo. He also won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou the previous year.
After Farokh Tarapore, who participated in the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, Seoul in 1988, and Barcelona in 1992, Saravanan would be just the second Indian sailor to represent India in the Olympic Games.
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