New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS)
Open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma will be financially backed in her swimming efforts by Vedanta company Hindustan Zinc for a year, a release said on Friday.
Bhakti will be promoting open water swimming and will also train girls in swimming leagues during the year she will be sponsored.
"I am very thankful to Hindustan Zinc for promoting the open water swimming sports and I believe girls in India are very talented and can certainly make their mark internationally", said Bhakti Sharma in a statement.
Company CEO Akhilesh Joshi said the company has in the past also sponsored many sportspersons like athlete Krishna Poonia, weightlifter Mala Sukhwal, Jabbar Ali and Limbaram.
Bhakti is preparing to swim 2.5 kilometres in the Antarctic Ocean in January next year. If she succeeds, she will set a world record, breaking South African Lewis Pugh's mark of 1 km.