Eabad Ali wins bronze in the men’s windsurfer RS:X event at the Asian Games

Tuesday at the NBX Sailing Centre in Ningbo, Eabad Ali won bronze for India in the Asian Games Men’s Windsurfer RS:X competition.

With a net score of 52, Eabad Ali placed third, one spot behind South Korean Cho Wonwoo, who took home the gold, and Thailand’s Natthaphong Phonopparat, who earned silver with a score of 29.

Ali’s worst performances in the grueling 14-race event were in the second and third races, when he failed to finish and lost seven points out of a possible 59. Ali ultimately finished with a significant 23-point lead over the silver medalist.

With a silver medal in the Girl’s Dinghy—ILCA4 at the Asian Games earlier, 17-year-old Neha Thakur established India’s presence in the sailing contests.

After 11 races in this category, Neha, a student in her 12th grade from Madhya Pradesh who began sailing at the National Sailing School in Bhopal at a very young age, came in second place behind Noppassorn Khunboonjan of Thailand.

At the conclusion of the tenth race, Neha had a net score (also known as penalty points) of 23, while the Thai sailor had a score of 14. Third-place finisher Jaekyoung Seol of the Republic of Korea got a net score of 27.

Neha placed fourth and earned four racing points in the eleventh race on Tuesday, while the Thai managed to place second, behind Singaporean Keira Marie Carlyle. Seol of Korea finished third in the eleventh race, but she was unable to pass Neha and move into second place.

Capt. Jitendra Dixit, secretary general of the Yachting Federation of India, has high expectations for the contests at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and anticipates additional medals on Wednesday, the last day of competitions.

In sailing, the net score is calculated by deducting the competitor’s lowest cumulative score from all of the races from the total points. The winner is determined by who has the lowest net score.