I believe Nethra Kumanan will perform well at Paris 2024, says coach Tamas Eszes

Speaking at a webinar, Tamas Eszes, a two-time Olympian in laser standard, said: "I strongly believe Nethra Kumanan will perform well in the 2024 Paris Olympics."

Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan (L), who qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics recently, with her Hungarian coach Tamas Eszes.

Tamas Eszes, Nethra Kumanan’s coach, said he expects the Indian sailor to finish in the top-20 (among 44 competitors) at the Tokyo Olympics.

Speaking at a webinar, organised by Go Sports Foundation on Thursday, the Hungarian, a two-time Olympian in laser standard, said: "It takes a sailor a minimum of two to three Olympics to do really well. Nethra Kumanan is only 23 years old. Generally, sailors in their first Olympics are in their own bubble. I strongly believe Nethra will perform well in the 2024 Paris Olympics."

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The 44-year-old further added: “Nethra is a very good sailor. The key job we did in the last one-and-a-half years when she was with us [at Gran Canaria, Spain] was to find subtle movements in the boat and to remove the problems Nethra was having in light wind conditions."

Israel's Nimrod Mon Brokman, a sports psychologist who worked with Nethra, said what she achieved under the circumstances was phenomenal.

“She is one of the most motivated athletes, and that too being an Engineering student and to be able to manage both [in an Olympic year] is really great. In the last few months, we concentrated on putting attention on all the right places. She had a lot of stress and expectations before the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. Inspite of all that, the way she finished the final medal race was really special,” said Brokman.

On expectations for Tokyo, Nethra, the first Indian woman to make it to the Olympics in Sailing, said her focus would be to remain calm and be the best she can be.