India Opens Sailing Medal Account With Men’s Skiff Silver at Asian Games

India opened its sailing medal account at the Asian Games on Thursday, with Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble winning silver in the men’s skiff competition.

The Indian pair finished with a net score of 23 points after nine races, four points behind China’s Wen Zaiding and Liu Tian, who won gold. Hong Kong China’s Akira Luke Sakai and Russel Aylsworth took bronze with 24 points.

Francis and Noble produced a consistent campaign, winning Race 3 and finishing second in Races 1, 5 and 9. Their sixth-place finish in Race 8 was discarded under sailing’s low-point scoring system.

The silver is India’s second Asian Games medal in the men’s skiff event. Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy had won bronze in the men’s 49er at Jakarta 2018. It is also India’s 24th sailing medal at the Asian Games.

Francis, 31, and Noble, 30, are Kochi-based sailors who have known each other since childhood. They trained at the National Sailing School in Bhopal and the Muziris Yachting Club in Kerala and have previously won bronze at the Asian Sailing Championships.

Earlier on Thursday, Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma finished fourth in the women’s skiff, narrowly missing out on a medal. They had also placed fourth in the event at Hangzhou 2023.