Focused training for Medal Race stands Vishnu Saravanan in good stead

So then, it boiled down to Vishnu Saravanan being mentally tough in the business end of the Mussanah Open Championship.

Please read first part of the interview here

“My long drives around Malta with Trevor (Millar) helped with that. Our conversations would be mostly about the mental aspect of racing. He would give me situations and ask me to unravel them to understand how my mind works. He also guided me with the little things that help me find key solutions,” Vishnu Saravanan says, revealing the secret of his fortitude.

Three days after that poor second race, he had clawed back to being in second spot but a none-too-happy final day of the opening series of races when he finished 12 and 11 brought the pressure right back. Thailand’s Keerati Bualong had his nose ahead going into the Medal Race, though both were tied at 51 points each. Hong Kong’s Nick Bezy and China’s Wu Jiannan were 4 points away. 

The key was to do better than all these sailors in the Medal Race and take the second Olympic qualification place. “It was a tough position to be in. I was hoping that I would win the Olympic berth before the Medal Race but that did not happen, though I secured four podium finishes in the 10-race opening series. I switched off my phone and used the 18 hours to the Medal Race to concentrate on recovery, get the muscles working and focus on the simple things,” he says.  

“I was not thinking about the future or the outcome. I was telling my mind to focus on the positives and turn the negatives into positives as well. I was telling it to focus on the wind and to respond to it so that the boat speed would be at the optimal level rather than worry about the result. I was happy I slept for 14 hours. It was a good indication that the mind was calm and focused,” he says.

Yet, there was incredible pressure all around him. “Honestly, I was aware of only 10 per cent of the pressure but a lot of things hinged on the Olympic qualification. My whole career depended on this. My family and AYN which has supported me all along needed me to succeed. There are a number of young Army sailors who were hoping that I would secure the qualification,” he says. 

“I could see that my coach Alex was under stress because the whole sailing community was looking forward to my qualification.  I had a lot going on in my mind, but I had to lock all of that in one corner and do what I had to do. The mind was only processing information that was needed and ignored all else. I was able to zone out of all this and focused on what I needed to do,” he says.

“Ahead of the Medal Race, my coach told me to do what I felt was right. I was very confident that I could do it. I believed in myself and did simple sailing. In the end, it worked out pretty well. Yet, his heart was busily aflutter at the start, as he had decided to take calculated risks and start conservatively next to Ryan Lo. 

“I was fourth when rounding the first mark where the Chinese and the two Thais were ahead, but they started to make mistakes. I found more wind in my sail to round the next mark in second spot. 

It was a bit risky to sail through the middle, but it worked,” he says, pointing out that he had trained for such moments. 

“We had a fortnight’s training for just the Medal Race. Every day in Malta, we were sailing a Medal Race. It allowed me to handle the pressure of the double points of the Medal Race. Going into the Medal Race in Mussanah, it helped me that I did not think of it as a Medal Race, but as just another race where I had to do the best I could,” he says.

“I gained the lead with sound tactics. And as I headed to the finish line, all I was telling myself was to focus. ‘It is not yet over,’ I reminded myself. After I crossed the line and smacked the bow to say a thank you to the boat, God, my parents, my sister, my coaches and my team-mates. It was one of the biggest days of my life,” he says.

His voice quivers a bit as Vishnu Saravanan speaks about his parents. “It is my father’s (R Saravanan) dream that I am living. It is great to see my parents so happy. They laid the foundation and worked very hard to get me where I am. My father set me off on my sailing journey all those years ago,” he says, gratitude and pride shining through. 

Before long, the routine of resting and watching Netflix will give way to training in his second home, Malta. “I think it helps that I see the coaches and support staff in Sail Coach as family. In any case, time flies because I love what I am doing. I will be training in Malta and Portugal for two months. It is all down to hunger. I believe I will be competitive in Tokyo,” he says.

Photo: Coach Alexandr Denisiuc and Vishnu Saravanan (Courtesy: SailCoach on Twitter).