Malayali first cousins Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble clinched the silver medal in the men’s skiff sailing event at the Asian Games on Thursday, marking an impressive debut on the continental stage.
The 31-year-old Francis from Ernakulam and 30-year-old Noble combined for 24 net points and 28 total points after nine races, finishing behind Japan, who took gold with 11 net points and 14 total points. Hong Kong secured the other silver medal listed in the event standings.
The Indian duo had strong finishes throughout the competition, winning race 3 and finishing second in races 1, 5 and 9. China topped four races but were disqualified in races 2, 6 and 8, affecting their final position.
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Skiff sailing uses small, lightweight boats, with points awarded according to finishing position — the lower the total score, the better the final standing.
Noble, the son of a fisherman who died during Kerala’s devastating 2018 floods, described the medal as a special achievement in his first Asian Games.
“It was our first Asian Games and winning a medal is very special. It was a tough competition and we somehow won the silver,” Noble told PTI.
Both sailors train at the Army Yachting Node in Mumbai and said the windy conditions made the competition particularly challenging.
“We are not much comfortable with windy conditions. But we survived and somehow won a silver,” Francis said, adding that the duo generally performs better in lighter winds, which are more common during their training in India.
Francis admitted the result came with mixed emotions, as they believed gold was within reach.
“We could have won the gold,” he said, explaining that they initially thought they were battling for bronze and only realised later that they had secured silver. He added that the choppy conditions exposed areas of their technique that they need to improve.
The cousins’ strong understanding has also helped their partnership. Their mothers are sisters, and the two grew up together, allowing them to coordinate naturally while sailing.
According to the Sports Authority of India, both developed an interest in sailing at a young age and trained at the National Sailing School in Bhopal and the Muziris Yachting Club in Kerala. They had previously combined to win bronze at the Asian Sailing Championships.
The Indian pair’s Asian Games debut has now added another major medal to their growing sailing partnership.
