Ace sailor Vishnu Saravanan clinched the gold medal in the one-person dinghy (ILCA7) category at the Europa Cup 2024 sailing meet held in Mallorca, Spain.
Saravanan topped the 91-boat race with 17 net points. The Netherlands’ Willem Wiersema also accrued the same points but Saravanan won the category on technicality.
Australia’s Lawson McAullay won the bronze with 22 net points at the event, organised by the Reial Club Nautic Port de Pollenca.
The ILCA7 is a category within the ILCA (International Laser Class Association) sailing class. The Laser Standard is a small, lightweight boat with a single mast.
Saravanan finished first in two of his seven races at the meet. This year’s Europa Cup saw a historic participation, with 334 sailors competing under challenging conditions with wind speeds ranging from 15 to +30 knots throughout the three-day competition.
Back in January, Saravanan became the first Indian to secure a sailing quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics, doing so at the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship 2024 in Australia this January.
The 25-year-old previously competed at the Tokyo Olympics where he had finished 20th in a field of 35.
An appearance at the Paris Olympics will make Saravanan only the second Indian sailor to represent India in multiple Olympic Games after Farokh Tarapore, who competed at the Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, and the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics.
Last year, he also secured the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.