The first test event for next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics, an international sailing competition in Marseille, was held at the Roucas Blanc Marina from July 9 to July 16. Some of the top sailors from around the world competed at the event in the south of France. Test events are sporting competitions held prior to the Olympic Games as dress rehearsals for the main event.
Besides giving athletes some much-needed competitive practice, test events also help organisers test their readiness and fine-tune logistical and other aspects for the upcoming Summer Games. The entry list for the event also included eight Indian sailors – Vishnu Saravanan (men’s dinghy), Nethra Kumanan (women’s dinghy), KC Ganapathy/Varun Thakkar (men’s skiff), Preethi Kongara/Sudhanshu Shekhar (mixed dinghy) and Siddheshwar Doiphode/Ramya Saravanan (mixed multihull). Among the eight, four – Vishnu Saravanan, Nethra Kumanan, KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar – represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Nethra Kumanan, who became the first Indian woman to qualify directly for an Olympic sailing event in Tokyo, finished 22nd among 38 contestants in the women’s dinghy competition at Marseille. She tallied 170 net points. Dutchwoman Marit Bouwmeester, a Rio 2016 Olympic champion, topped the field with 44 net points. In sailing, lower net points are better. Vishnu Saravanan, an under-21 world championships bronze medallist, meanwhile, came in 32nd in the men’s dinghy competition with 237 net points. Australia’s Matthew Wearn, the reigning Olympic champion, topped the 42-man event. The team of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar placed 26th among 29 teams in the men’s skiff event with a net total of 247.
