Gamagori City: Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble created history for India at the 2026 Asian Games by winning silver in the men’s skiff sailing event on Thursday, giving the country its first sailing medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

The Kochi-based pair finished the nine-race regatta with 23 net points, placing second behind China’s Wen Zaiding and Liu Tian, who won gold with 16 points. Hong Kong China’s Akira Luke Sakai and Russel Aylsworth took bronze with 24 points.

Francis and Noble produced a consistent campaign and finished second in the ninth and final race, confirming their place on the podium. Their best individual result came in Race 3, which they won. They also secured runner-up finishes in Races 1 and 5.

India opens sailing medal account

The silver marked India’s first sailing medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and added another milestone to the country’s history in the sport.

India had previously won a bronze medal in the men’s 49er event at the 2018 Asian Games through Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy. Francis and Noble have now added a silver in the men’s skiff category.

The result also adds to India’s overall Asian Games sailing medal record. The country had won three sailing medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, and the latest result further extends its presence on the continental sailing stage.

The medal came in the ninth and final race at the Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor, where the Indian pair finished second to secure their overall position.

Francis and Noble deliver under pressure

Francis, 31, and Noble, 30, have known each other since childhood and began their sailing journey together.

The pair are from Kochi and developed their interest in sailing at a young age. Their early training included time at the National Sailing School in Bhopal before they continued their development in Kerala.

They later trained at the Muziris Yachting Club and continued to compete together at the national and international levels.

Their partnership has already produced success outside the Asian Games. They won bronze at the Asian Sailing Championships and built experience competing together in the skiff category.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games represented another major opportunity for the pair, and their consistency across the nine races ultimately brought them a historic Asian Games silver.

One race win and three second-place finishes

Francis and Noble’s medal was built on a series of strong results rather than a single dominant performance.

They won Race 3, their best finish of the regatta, and finished second in Races 1, 5 and 9. The final race proved particularly important as the Indian pair finished runner-up and secured their position behind China.

China’s Wen and Liu maintained the advantage throughout the competition, winning four of the nine races.

The Chinese combination eventually finished with 16 points, seven fewer than India’s net total of 23. Hong Kong China’s pair ended with 24 points, just one point behind India.

The narrow margins demonstrate the importance of consistency in sailing, where one poor result can significantly affect the overall standings.

How sailing’s low-point scoring works

Sailing uses a scoring system that differs from most conventional sports.

Competitors receive points according to their finishing position in each race. The boat finishing first receives one point, the second-placed boat receives two, and the points increase according to the finishing position.

Unlike sports where a higher aggregate usually represents a better performance, sailing rewards the lowest overall score.

A discard system also allows a competitor’s worst eligible result to be removed from the final calculation. This means sailors must balance aggressive racing with consistency across the regatta.

Francis and Noble finished the nine-race competition with 23 net points after their discard was taken into account. Their strong results in several races helped them remain ahead of Hong Kong China’s pair despite China’s sustained advantage at the top of the standings.

Skiff sailing demands coordination

Skiffs are lightweight sailing boats that require close coordination between crew members.

In a two-person skiff, sailors must work together to control the boat while responding to wind conditions, changing positions and decisions made by competitors around them.

Race results can be influenced by tactical choices, positioning, speed and consistency rather than simply the ability to finish first in an individual race.

For Francis and Noble, their three second-place finishes and one victory provided the consistency needed to secure silver.

Their ability to recover from less favourable results and produce a strong performance in the final race was particularly important in deciding the final standings.

Childhood friends reach Asian Games podium

The medal also represents a long journey for Francis and Noble, whose association with sailing began when they were young.

According to reports, the two began pursuing the sport seriously after being encouraged by coaches and trained at the National Sailing School in Bhopal before returning to Kerala. They subsequently continued their development at the Muziris Yachting Club.

Their partnership has remained intact through years of national and international competition.

The duo’s earlier bronze medals at the Asian Sailing Championships provided further experience before their Asian Games debut. Their latest performance has now taken that partnership to a major continental podium.

Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma finish fourth

India narrowly missed another sailing medal in the women’s skiff event.

Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma finished fourth, just outside the podium places. The pair had also finished fourth in the same event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Their result meant Francis and Noble remained India’s only sailing medallists at the Aichi-Nagoya Games on Thursday.

The men’s silver nevertheless gave the Indian sailing contingent a significant milestone and added another medal to India’s growing tally at the Games.

A historic silver for Indian sailing

Francis and Noble’s silver is a landmark result for India’s sailing campaign at the 2026 Asian Games.

The pair combined consistency, tactical decision-making and teamwork across nine races to finish with 23 net points and secure second place behind China.

Their victory in Race 3 and second-place finish in the final race were among the defining moments of their campaign.

For two childhood friends from Kochi, the silver represents the culmination of years of training and competition and gives India its first sailing medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.


(This story has not been edited by News Karnataka staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)