Vishnu Saravanan, 22, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the Laser Standard Class, says sailing has given him the rank which his father, Ramachandran Saravanan, who retired as a Subedar in the Indian Army, had after serving the nation for more than 30 years.

The Mumbai sailor joined the Army Yachting Node (AYN) as Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) when he was just 17 as part of the Indian Army`s Mission Olympics. Vishnu takes pride in that he is able to fulfil his father`s dream of representing India at the Olympics. "My father is my first coach and it was his dream to represent India at the Olympics. But due to physical and other reasons, he was unable to do so. What I am today is because of him. He sacrificed everything to ensure me and my sister [Ramya] could take up sailing professionally. He spent all his savings and earnings to ensure we were able to get the right training. He could have bought a home with the savings, but he spent it all on us. The personal dream for me is to be able to buy a home for my mother [Rajeshwari] in Mumbai. It`s so strange but I have the same rank as him [dad] . And I achieved it at an early age because of sailing," Saravanan, who trains under Alexandr Denisiuc at the Sail Coach foundation in the Republic of Malta since 2017, told mid-day.com.