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India secured its second spot in sailing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, set to be played in the French capital from July 26 till August 11. Nethra Kumanan on Friday, April 26 secured her Paris Olympics spot under the Emerging Nations Program banner at the Last Chance Regatta in Hyeres, France.
It is to be noted that the Last Chance Regatta serves as an Olympic qualifier. The event was the final qualifying event for the 2024 Paris. Nethra, who last competed at the Tokyo Olympics, competed in women’ dinghy (ILCA 6). She managed to secure 67 net points to finish fifth on the leaderboard, overall.
Apart from Nethra Kumanan, the top three sailors also secured the Olympics quote. While Romania’s Ebru Bolat finished first with 36 net points, Marilena Makri of Cyprus (37 net points) and Slovenia’s Lin Pletikos (54 net points) secured the second and third spot respectively.
The Indian sailor is the first Indian woman to win a medal in the sport after clinching the bronze in the second round of the Hempel World Cup Series in Miami in January 2020. The 26-year-old represented India at both 2014 and 2018 Asian Games. However, her best finish came in the 2018 edition of the Games, played in Jakarta, Indonesia.