The contrast could not be sharper between the vast expanse of the Gulf of Oman, the gusts of wind powering the sails, the gentle sound of boat making contact with choppy waters and the quietness of a 10×10 room in the Army Yachting Node in Mumbai. But unlike on the previous occasions spent in isolation, Vishnu Saravanan would now use the time to unwind and recharge.
He has just secured a ticket to the Olympic Games sailing competition in the Laser Standard class, easily the highest ever country entry in sailing, with a victory in the Medal Race in the Mussanah Open Sailing Championships on the Gulf of Oman off the coast at the Millennium Resort, 130km from Muscat.
He joined Nethra Kumanan (Laser Radial) and the Skiff 49er pair of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar as the first Indians to secure automatic qualification for the Olympic Games.
His pathway to the Olympic Games has been punctuated by failure and success but, more importantly, an ability to learn from each experience. It will be fair to say that his Olympic journey has its roots in his inability to make it to the 2018 Asian Games. Needing to finish in the top six in the 21-boat, eight-race Asian Sailing Championships in Jakarta, he ended up 12th.
One of his key memories from the Asian Championships in Jakarta was of crying after not realising his goal of finishing in the top six that would have got him to the Asian Games. “It was early days for me as a High Performance sailor. That failure taught me a lot, not the least being about the boat speed and in race thinking,” he says, recalling that he managed just three top-10 finishes in Jakarta without being in contention for a podium place in any of the races.
“There was pressure of expectation and that led me to put myself in difficult situations,” Vishnu Saravanan says, thanking his coach for helping him overcome that disappointment. “He reminded me that I was but 19 years of age and needed to get my potential working in my favour. What he said resonated strongly and my hunger and drive grew.”
It was then that he recalibrated his goals and set 2020 Tokyo as a target. “It helped me stay committed to my sport. I am always thinking about sailing, about being the best I can be,” he says. The bronze medals in the Under-21 Open European Trophy in Dziwnon, Poland, in August 2019 and the World Under-21 in Split, Croatia showed that he could hold his own.
“I raced in the silver fleet, finishing 84th in the 2019 Laser Standard World Championship in Sakaiminiati City in Japan in July. No other Indian has got to silver fleet in a World Championships. I then asked myself why I could not beat the others. After all, in one of the silver fleet races, I had finished fourth.
“I took a month off before reaching Poland for the Under-21 Open European Trophy. I got there without any expectations but only one goal in mind – sail and sail fast,” he says. “And in Dziwnon, I saw myself in the top 10 after the first day. I thought I could win it. I was sixth going into the last race but did well to finish the last race in fourth place to be third overall.”
The knowledge gained by sailing with the best in Malta, learning from Alexandr Denisiuc and the legendary Trevor Millar who helped with sailing techniques and mental approach, stood him in good stead in Split. There were only five races as the wind was pretty up and down. “I had to be conservative and not rack up high scores when the winds permitted racing,” he says.
Had it not been for a poor showing in the fifth and final race, when he finished 17th, Vishnu Saravanan might have returned a better medal. “Yet, the bronze medal boosted my confidence and shut a lot of people. I loved the feeling since I don’t like to talk back to those who say stuff. I am glad I could do what I needed to do,” he said.
Grateful that the Mussanah Open stood in as the Olympic qualifier for Asia after the postponement and cancellation of the Asian Sailing Championships in Abu Dhabi, he reached Oman with no expectations but to be in the present and enjoy the racing. He was challenged to not change the thinking when he ended up 11th in the second race itself.
“There were some who were critical of that finish. The key was to not let such negativity become fear in my own mind. I knew it is a long event and there was ample time to get in the frame and clinch that Olympic berth. I just focused on getting better. I knew that every point counts. I believed in my boat speed and I had trained to do the rest of the work. I kept believing,” he says.
“It is very difficult to get a good result each time we set out to race because we are battling against the environment and a number of things can go wrong, including malfunctioning equipment. You have to accept outcome of each race and fight harder the next time. I knew I had made mistakes in that second race,” he says.
Photo: Vishnu Saravanan (Courtesy: SailCoach on Twitter)
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