Vishnu missed gold medal due to cancellation of final race, got bronze medal in mens dinghy.

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Hangzhou. The announcement of cancellation of the 12th and final race of the men’s Dinghy-ILCA7 class has spread disappointment in the Indian sailing camp as it prevented Olympian Vishnu Saravanan from winning a gold medal at the 19th Asian Games here on Wednesday.

Instead, Vishnu had to settle for a bronze medal as he failed to get past his opponents from Singapore and Korea Republic. Saravanan finished third behind gold medalist Jun Han Ryan Lo of Singapore and silver medalist Jimin Ha of Korea Republic.

“Vishnu was supposed to fight for the gold medal. But unfortunately, there was no wind today and the race had to be cancelled,” said a senior sailing association (YAI) official from Ningbo, where the sailing events of the Asian Games are being held.

Vishnu entered the medal race by winning his 11th race on Tuesday, while his nearest rival NB Benzie of Hong Kong could not finish the race and was given a penalty of 14 points.

Vishnu is the Asian champion in the men’s laser category, having won the gold medal in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2022. This was his first medal in the Asian Games.

This is India’s third medal in sailing at the 19th Asian Games after Neha Thakur (silver) and Ibad Ali (bronze) on Tuesday. This was the first time in the Asian Games that India has won medals in the ILCA 7 and RSX categories.

Vishnu’s victory in the 11th race at the Ningbo Jiangshan Sailing Center in a sea resort in Ningbo took his total to 48 points and 34 net points.

And when the final race was canceled on Wednesday, Vishnu lost his chance to overtake Lo, who was in first place with 32 total points and 26 net points, and Jimin Ha, who had 42 total points and 33 net points. There were points. With a good race and a little luck, Vishnu could have overtaken his two rivals and won the gold medal.

Vishnu had made a great start in the 19th Asian Games and won the first and third races. He finished second in the sixth race but had to retire in the eighth race, hampering his progress.

However, 24-year-old sailor Vishnu, who represented India in the men’s laser category at the Tokyo Olympic Games and was ranked 20th overall, made a strong comeback by finishing second in the 10th race and first in the 11th race and placed himself in the lead. kept.

A great situation to fight for the gold medal, but unfortunately the weather spoiled his day and he had to settle for a bronze medal.(IANS)