Indians rise on the waterfront

Neha Thakur bags silver in girls' dinghy ILCA4, while Eabad Ali wins bronze in the men's windsurfing RS:X category

- SHANTANU SRIVASTAVA

Neha Thakur bagged a silver medal in the girls' dinghy ILCA4 (International Laser Category Association) event while armyman Eabad Ali bagged a bronze in the men's windsurfer RS:X category as India kickstarted their sailing campaign on a high at the ongoing Asian Games here.

The 17-year-old, competing in her first Asiad, used the windy conditions at the Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Centre -- over 150 kilometres from Hangzhou - to her advantage to open the day's medal count for India. The scenic venue is located near the Songlan mountain resort where the conditions are ideal in terms of sea expanse, wind direction, and speed. The place was developed especially for the Asian Games.

Born to a family of farmers, Thakur finished with a total of 32 points in the eight-woman final but the net score of 27 earned her a second spot behind Thailand's Noppassorn Khunboonjan of Thailand who finished with 16 points. Singapore's Kiera Marie Carlyle took the third spot with a net tally of 28.

In sailing, the competitor's worst score from all races is deducted from total points to arrive at the net score. The sailor with the lowest net tally wins. The  girl's dinghy ILC4 event consisted of ll races with Thakur's fifth race being the worst. The five points earned in that race were subtracted from the total points (32) to determine the net score.