Top Chinese and Thai sailors were greeted with cheers on their return to shore after the medal races at the 2023 Asian Sailing Championships being held at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, Thailand. The Chinese scored a record haul of medals and six tickets to Paris 2024, and the Thais earned the highly coveted two additional tickets to the next Olympic Games in the ILCA 6 and 7.

 

Of 18 medals awarded at the event, the Chinese took all gold, four silver, and three bronze, including a gold for Hong Kong in the ILCA 7. In the 470 and Nacra 17, this was no surprise. In the ILCA 6, however, a sweep of all medals was thanks to Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery, who chose to pass on medals in favor of protecting her position against India’s Nethra Kumanan to achieve her goal, Olympic qualification.

 

“It’s part of the game,” said an understanding Kumanan, after Montgomery successfully forced her to the back of the medal race fleet to ensure Thailand would be the second country on the leaderboard.

 

Sophia flew into the arms of her family upon her return to shore, overcome by emotion. “I’m very, very proud and happy,” she said, before launching into an Oscar worthy thank you list. “Everyone helped me. I didn’t think it was possible. I couldn’t have done this without everyone helping me,” she gushed.

 

In the ILCA 7, Nicholas Halliday of Hong Kong, China, saw six years of effort pay off.  He earned gold and a long-awaited ticket to the Olympic Games with but a three-point lead over silver. “I’m so happy. I’ve been training so long for this, and I am so excited,” he said.

 

Silver went to Thailand’s Arthit Mikhail Romanyk, who was the one besieged by reporters on the beach and carried atop his boat to his trailer. “It’s been a great event. We had great conditions every day, a great race committee too. I want to thank my family and friends for coming along and cheering me on. It’s been a very long journey and I’m very proud of myself to be able to do this with my team.”

 

He made sure his sparring partner, Chusitt Punjamala, got equal recognition for his three wins in the fleet to Romanyk’s zero. Similarly, Montgomery recognized her sister Grace, who surprised all with a fifth-place finish in the fleet despite having only just moved into the ILCA 6. All four were introduced to sailing at the host venue, the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, and could not have been more elated they delivered for not only their home country, but also their home club.

 

ILCA 6 gold medalist Min Gu of China was as ecstatic, having won not only the regatta but also her selection to represent the country in Paris 2024. “I’m very happy to be the champion in Pattaya, Thailand,” she said, “and also very happy to get qualification for China joining the Olympic Games. It’s very, very exciting.”

 

Nacra 17 gold medalists Huicong Mai and Linlin Chen also win the right to sail in Paris 2024, this event a selection regatta as well.

 

The ILCA 7 bronze went to three-time Malaysian Olympian Khairulnizam Afendy, who would have lost on a tie-breaker to Indian Olympian Vishnu Saravanan had Saravan not been penalized two points for an equipment inspection issue in the medal race quarantine zone earlier in the morning.

 

In the 49er, India’s Prince Noble and Manu Francis managed to pierce the Chinese fleet’s dominance, winning bronze in the class.

 

In the 49erFX, the Japanese team of Misaki Tanaka and Sera Nagamatsu took silver and Singaporeans Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low won silver and bronze, both well-deserved after hard fought battles to break the Chinese chokehold at the top of the fleet.

 

The 2023 Asian Sailing Championship and Asian qualifier for Paris 2024 is organized by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand and the Royal Thai Navy, with the support of World Sailing and the Asian Sailing Federation. Sponsors include the Sports Authority of Thailand, Chonburi Province, and Pattaya City. The event is being staged at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, Thailand, which also hosted the ILCA Asian and Oceanian Championship and the ILCA Master Worlds Championships in the past year.

For results, see https://www.pattaya-olympic-qualifier.com/results/ 

Report by Nima Chandler

Photos – YRAT and Nima Chandler