Abhilash Tomy looks to conquer Golden Globe Race on his second attempt

Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy believes the upcoming race is his second chance to achieve one of his greatest dreams. (File/AFP)
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Updated 03 September 2022
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Abhilash Tomy looks to conquer Golden Globe Race on his second attempt

  • On Sunday, the Indian sailor and retired navy commander will enter the third running of the race, having almost lost his life in the 2018 edition

The ocean has always been a place of solitude for Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy. 

On Sunday, the former navy commander will return to sea as he sets off on his second attempt at the world’s toughest and longest sailboat competition, the Golden Globe Race. 

“When I am at sea, there are no distractions, no external stimulations…I always look forward to it,” 43-year-old Tomy told Arab News during an interview via Zoom. 

The solo, non-stop, around-the-world yacht race, which was first held in 1968-1969 as the “Sunday Times Golden Globe Race,” made a welcome return in 2018 on its 50th anniversary as a tribute to the original event and its achievements.

For its third edition, kicking off on Sept. 4, 2022, competitors will stick to the established rules of using basic boats and equipment and avoiding modern technology to complete their journeys.  

Following the exact route traveled in the first edition, sailors will set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne in France and make their way around the world via five Great Capes before returning to the starting point. 

“I will be out of touch with my kid and my family for around eight to nine months, but it’s an added anxiety that you just come to terms with,” said Tomy.

“If a negative thought enters your mind, it stays there for many days,” he said. “So, I make a conscious effort to keep my mind healthy during those many months of solitude.”

Looking back at his first attempt at the GGR in 2018, a feat that nearly killed him, Tomy believes the upcoming race is his second chance to achieve one of his greatest dreams.  

“The 2018 GGR was a very difficult time, but I never blamed the sea for what happened.

“I was in third position when the storm happened, and out of the three boats that encountered this storm, two were lost,” he said. 

Tomy was sailing the Thuraya, an exact replica of the boat Suhaili used by the race’s first winner of 1968, Sir Robin Knox Johnston, when he faced an extreme storm that dismantled his yacht 80 days into the race.

“I had a couple of knockdowns in the storm. 

“The first knockdown broke my mizzen boom, a few antennas and the wind generator,” he said. “The boat was a complete mess inside.”

While hand steering the boat in rocky waters halfway between Australia and South Africa, Tomy encountered severe winds that flung him into the water, separating him from his boat and pushing him deep underwater. 

“When the boat straightened, I was on top of the mizzen mast, which is about 9 meters high. From there, I fell, my back hit the boom and that’s when I fractured my spine,” he said.

Tomy, who was not aware of the extent of his injury at the time, tried to clean up his boat, repeatedly attempting to stand up before finally buckling at the knees.

“While I was injured and lying in the bunk for three and a half days, I was already making plans to take part in the next GGR,” said Tomy.

After reaching out to the race control and turning his emergency position-indicating radio beacon on, he was finally rescued on day 83 of the race and underwent a two-day spinal surgery over a week later. 

His short journey at the GGR 2018, however, came five years after one of his life’s greatest accomplishments. 

On March 31, 2013, Tomy became the first Indian and second Asian to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation around the world on a boat. 

Sailing 23,000 nautical miles from India, the championed sailor crossed the Indian, Southern Pacific and Atlantic oceans, rounding three Great Capes: Cape Leeuwin in Australia, Cape Horn in South America and Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

After 151 days at sea, Tomy was greeted with a ceremonial reception by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the president of India at the time.  

This time around, Tomy aims to complete his sail around the world for the second time and cross the GGR finish line, traveling close to 56,000 km. 

“I’ve decided that if at all I go into a similar storm, I am going to stay inside the boat and try to save myself at the very least,” he told Arab News. 

Since his accident, Tomy has undergone extensive physiotherapy to rebuild his strength and improve his fitness levels for the 2022 race.

He also retired from the Indian navy after serving for 24 years, leaving an environment he was very familiar with, having spent much of his childhood on bases across the country since his father was in the Naval Police. 

“It was important that I transitioned, but it was a very emotional moment for me,” Tomy said. “You really can’t take the navy out of me.”

This year, Tomy has solely focused on preparing for the GGR 2022, recently crossing the English Channel over a distance of 2,000 nautical miles to qualify for the race.

On Sunday, he will be sailing a UAE-flagged boat sponsored by Bayanat, an AI-powered geospatial intelligence company, and contributing to the company’s ongoing scientific work. 

“This race takes you to the corners of the Earth that are not really visited by ships or humans, and I am going to be collecting water samples all along the way so that Bayanat can eventually study the microplastic content in them,” said Tomy.

The samples will be sent to one of the company’s healthcare labs to undergo multiple assessments, Hasan Hosani, CEO of Bayanat, told Arab News.

“The target is to publish the data and contribute to learning more about the environment,” said Hosani. 

In parallel, the data collection company will also utilize satellite imagery and synthetic aperture radars to capture images of various locations throughout Tomy’s journey in the GGR. 

“We will be creating an imagery book of captured images across the globe in different resolutions and angles using remote sensing once the race is complete,” said Hosani.

Praising Tomy’s passion for sailing and perseverance, Hosani ensures that Bayanat’s tasks will not interfere with his focus on completing the race safely — and possibly winning it.  

Eagerly looking forward to his time at sea, Tomy says he is not worried about feeling bored.

“Sailing a boat is mostly like running a kitchen; every day you have some repairs to do and chores to keep up with,” he said.

According to him, sailing is a sport that brings about a lot of character development. 

“It makes you patient, self-sufficient and gives you time to read books,” said Tomy. “I will have a lot of work to do.”


Sabalenka downs Swiatek as Gauff ends Boisson’s French Open run

Updated 57 min 47 sec ago
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Sabalenka downs Swiatek as Gauff ends Boisson’s French Open run

  • The Belarusian snapped Swiatek’s French Open winning streak at 26 matches with a 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0 success to reach her first final in the clay-court Grand Slam
  • Gauff and Sabalenka are level at 5-5 in their head-to-head record and have won one each of their two meetings at major tournaments

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek’s French Open reign with a devastating third-set performance on Thursday to tee up a Roland Garros final against Coco Gauff after the American knocked out French hero Lois Boisson.
The Belarusian snapped Swiatek’s French Open winning streak at 26 matches with a 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0 success to reach her first final in the clay-court Grand Slam.
“Iga is the toughest opponent, especially on the clay and at Roland Garros,” said Sabalenka after becoming the first player to defeat Swiatek in a deciding set at the French Open.
“I’m proud that I was able to get this win.”
World number two Gauff ended the dream run of 361st-ranked wildcard Boisson with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the second semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Gauff and Sabalenka are level at 5-5 in their head-to-head record and have won one each of their two meetings at major tournaments.
Sabalenka edged a topsy-turvy first set that featured eight breaks of serve in a tie-break, before Swiatek hit back to level the match.
The finale turned out to be a complete anti-climax, as Swiatek made 12 unforced errors in the third set and won only six points.
“I’m glad that I found my serve. It was a bit easier with the serve,” added the 27-year-old Sabalenka. “What can I say, 6-0 — it couldn’t be much more perfect than that!“
Sabalenka is targeting a fourth Grand Slam title and first not on hard courts, after winning last year’s US Open and the Australian Open back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.
Swiatek has still not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen 12 months ago.
She showed signs of a revival on the Paris clay where she has dominated since winning as a teenager in 2020, but her game deserted her in the deciding set as she slipped to only the third French Open defeat of her career.
“I love playing here, so for sure I’m happy that I was fortunate enough to play so many great tournaments here,” Swiatek said.
Sabalenka has now won their last two meetings, and five of 13 in total.
This was the first time the pair, the dominant players in women’s tennis of the past few years, have gone head-to-head at a Grand Slam tournament since Swiatek’s win in the 2022 US Open semifinals en route to the title.
Sabalenka will be the favorite to lift the trophy when she takes on Gauff, to whom she lost in the 2023 US Open final.
Swiatek, who was bidding to become the first woman to win four successive French Opens in over a century, will drop to seventh in the world rankings next week.
Boisson had got the better of third seed Jessica Pegula and world number six Mirra Andreeva in the previous two rounds but the test provided by Gauff proved to be a step too far.
The home crowd were silenced by a ruthless opening set from the second seed.
Boisson briefly raised the French fans from their slumber by breaking back in the second set, only to immediately surrender it straight back.
Gauff clinically finished the job after just 69 minutes on court to book her spot in a second French Open final.
“When you guys were chanting her name, I was thinking my name,” Gauff told the crowd in her on-court interview.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of work to do, but for now I’ll enjoy this one and then prepare for the final tomorrow.”
The 21-year-old suffered an emotional defeat by Swiatek in the 2022 final, but will believe she can finally win the tournament in which she has made at least the quarter-finals in five straight editions.
Boisson had been hoping to become only the second Frenchwoman to win the title in the Open era after Mary Pierce, but went out in a blaze of 33 unforced errors.
“Of course I’m really disappointed today, because obviously I wanted to go further than this semifinal, but I’m just going to take the time to digest this,” said the 22-year-old.
She will climb into the world’s top 70 next week and has added 690,000 euros ($789,536) to her previous career prize money of $148,009.


Yamal, Williams dazzle as Spain beat France in nine-goal thriller

Updated 06 June 2025
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Yamal, Williams dazzle as Spain beat France in nine-goal thriller

  • Yamal bagged a brace while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons

STUTTGART, Germany: Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart on Thursday, to set up a Nations League final with Portugal.
Yamal bagged a brace while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons.
Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the scoresheet for the Euro 2024 champions.
Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal.
France’s three late goals — a Rayan Cherki screamer, a Spain own goal and a stoppage time strike from Randal Kolo Muani — were not enough.
Spain held on to book an all-Iberian Nations League final against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on Sunday in Munich, while France will face hosts Germany in Stuttgart for the bronze medal, earlier in the day.
Returning to Germany where they won the European Championship in dominant fashion a year ago, Spain seem a more complete team, despite their late fadeout.
France were more dangerous in the opening stages, with Didier Deschamps electing to channel his attack through Ousmane Dembele rather than Mbappe.
Dembele, fresh from Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, created an early chance for Mbappe, but the Real Madrid superstar wasted it, electing to pass rather than shoot when one-on-one with the ‘keeper.
Minutes later, Spain escaped again as Theo Hernandez’s long-range effort shaved the top of the crossbar.
Spain made France pay soon after, when Williams and Oyarzabal, La Roja’s two goalscorers in the Euro 2024 final, linked up with 22 minutes played.
After a tear down the right, Yamal threaded it to Oyarzabal, who held off three defenders with his back to goal before finding Williams, who rifled his shot into the top of the net.
Spain grabbed full hold of the match just three minutes later when Oyarzabal dinked the French defense, allowing Merino to collect and hammer past an off-balance Maignan.
France had the better chances later in the half, with Dembele finding space in the box three times only to blast straight at a grateful Unai Simon.
Just before half-time, the narrowest of offsides robbed Spain of what would have been an incredible third.
In a clearly rehearsed free-kick play, Yamal found Martin Zubimendi behind the lines, who cut it back for Huijsen.
The second-half played out line the first, with France missing two big chances before Spain again scored a quick-fire double.
With 54 minutes played, Yamal won and converted a penalty, taking the ball from Williams before calmly slotting home.
France were reeling but Spain’s starlets had no sympathy, Williams setting up Pedri for a fourth just one minute later.
Mbappe won and converted a penalty with 59 minutes played but Yamal stepped up again to snuff out French hopes of an unlikely comeback, scoring Spain’s fifth with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Spain made four changes a their thoughts turned to Sunday, allowing France to score two late consolation goals.
Substitute Cherki scored a long-range effort and then forced Spain into conceding an own goal through Daniel Vivian.
Kolo Muani’s goal came in the fourth minute of stoppage time to cut the deficit to one, but France had left their comeback too late, as Spain held on.


Jordan qualify for World Cup for first time

Updated 05 June 2025
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Jordan qualify for World Cup for first time

  • Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman earlier on Thursday

AMMAN: Jordan have qualified for the World Cup for the first time at the 11th attempt after South Korea's 2-0 win over Iraq confirmed the west Asian nation's progress to the finals.

Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman earlier on Thursday before South Korea's win in Basra confirmed the country's progress to the 2026 finals in North America.

The Jordanians can no longer be overtaken in second place in Group B by third-placed Iraq.


Green Falcons beat Bahrain to set up FIFA World Cup qualifier showdown with Australia

Updated 05 June 2025
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Green Falcons beat Bahrain to set up FIFA World Cup qualifier showdown with Australia

  • Herve Renard's men had to win to push the race for second to Tuesday

RIFFA: Saudi Arabia defeated Bahrain 2-0 in Riffa on Thursday to tee up a showdown with Australia for the second automatic spot in AFC FIFA World Cup qualifying Group C.

With Australia snatching a last-minute victory against already qualified Japan earlier, Herve Renard's men had to win to push the race for second to Tuesday.

The Saudis got off to the perfect start, when on 16 minutes rising star Musab Al Juwayr met captain Salem Al-Dawsari's pinpoint cross to the back post to volley home.

The visitors then survived a few nervy moments in the second half before Abdulrahman Al Obud made safe the result 12 minutes from time with a goal on the counter.

The win keeps Saudi third, three points behind Australia, although with a far inferior goal difference.

Only a huge victory for the Gulf side in Jeddah would see them leapfrog the Socceroos.


Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in

Updated 05 June 2025
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Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in

  • Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a victory that puts Australia’s celebrations on hold
  • Jordan also moved to the cusp of qualification as Ali Olwan’s hat-trick delivered a 3-0 win over Oman

HONG KONG: Uzbekistan qualified for the World Cup for the first time on Thursday as a 0-0 draw with the UAE confirmed the nation’s progress to next year’s finals as Australia and Jordan moved to the verge of booking berths in North America.

Aziz Behich’s 90th minute strike earned the Socceroos a 1-0 win over already-qualified Japan in Perth in Group C to keep Tony Popovic’s side three points clear of Saudi Arabia, who won 2-0 against Bahrain in Riffa.

Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a victory that puts Australia’s celebrations on hold until the two nations meet in Jeddah on Tuesday.

But Australia’s vastly superior goal difference means they can lose that meeting with the Saudis by up to four goals and still advance to a sixth consecutive World Cup finals as second-placed finishers behind the Japanese.

Jordan also moved to the cusp of qualification as Ali Olwan’s hat-trick delivered a 3-0 win over Oman in Muscat to leave Jamal Sellami’s side waiting for the result from South Korea’s clash with Iraq in Basra later on Thursday in Group B.

Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made a string of second-half saves in Abu Dhabi to frustrate the UAE and earn his nation their first World Cup qualification since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Abbosbek Fayzullaev had hit the crossbar with a 54th minute header for the visitors but it was Yusupov who frustrated the Cosmin Olaroiu-coached Emiratis, who needed to win to maintain their hopes of automatic qualification.

The draw means the UAE will now progress to the fourth round of qualifying as the point earned guarantees a third- or fourth-placed finish in Group A.

Indonesia guaranteed their involvement in the World Cup preliminaries would continue into the fourth round as a 1-0 win over China also ended the qualification hopes of Branko Ivankovic’s side.

Ole Romeny’s 45th minute penalty separated the sides in Jakarta to ensure Indonesia would finish in either third or fourth place in Group C, thereby progressing to the next phase, which will be played in October.