Tamas Eszes expects a top-20 finish (among 44 competitors) from his ward, Nethra Kumanan, at the Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking at a webinar organised by Go Sports Foundation on Thursday, the Hungarian coach — a two-time Olympian in laser standard — said: “It takes a sailor a minimum of two to three Olympics to do really well. Nethra 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,” he said.
The 44-year-old further added: “Nethra is a very good sailor. In the last year and a half that she was with us [at Gran Canaria, Spain] we worked on finding subtle movements in the boat and removing the problems Nethra was having in light wind conditions.”
Israel's Nimrod Mon Brokman, 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 qualification. Inspite of all that, the way she finished the final medal race was really special,” said Brokman.
On expectations from Tokyo, Nethra, the first ever woman to make it to the Olympics, said her focus would be to “remain calm and be the best that I can be.”
