India's got swimmers

It’s a well known fact that in India Cricket is thousand times more popular than any other game & with the upcoming of players like somdev devvarman, saina nehwal & vijendar singh games like tennis, badminton and boxing are also becoming popular these days but with rising of these games some other games are left quite behind and one of these games is Swimming. In India swimming is done mainly as a recreational activity or just for fun but to adopt it as a sport is not very common. Inspite of this there are two Indian Swimmers who by their hard work, determination, enthusiasm and zeal have qualified for the Olympics 2012. They are Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal.

Click on the tabs to view individual profiles.

• Virdhawal Khade
• Sandeep Sejwal

Virdhawal Vikram Khade, who stands at over 6 feet 3 inches tall, is a swimmer from Kolhapur, Maharashtra . Khade is a National record holder in men’s 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle. Khade qualified for the Beijing Olympics 2008 and became the youngest Indian Swimmer ever to qualify for the Olympics, and although he finished 1^st in his respective heat in 100m race in Olympics 2008, he failed to qualify for the semifinals. Khade who is sponsored by Nike won six gold medals at the South East Asian games in 2006 and broke 3 games records. Khade created the history when he won the bronze medal for India at Asian Games in Swimming after 24 years. Virdhawal Khade qualified for the London Olympics in FINA World Championships held in Shanghai. He qualified in the 100m freestyle event by Clocking 50.34s and became the second swimmer after Sandeep Sejwal to qualify for this event.

In an interview Khade said that his main aim at the Olympics will be to qualify for the semi finals and finals. He also discussed his daily routine and said that he wakes up at 5.00 a.m. and practices till 9. From 10.30 to 12.30, he goes to gym and then in the evening from 5 to 8 it’s practice again. Khade is trained by Mr Nihar Ameen, an Indian swimming coach who is associated with K.C. Reddy Swim Centre at Bangalore. Khade said, “It is great fun to train under Nihar sir. He always makes sure we enjoy our training sessions and makes us continuously challenge ourselves”. He added, “during our practice sessions there are no physiotherapists available to us. The coach has to do both the jobs so it becomes very difficult for the coach”. He said, “I am very hungry for success. Winning an Olympic Medal for India is what I dream of and it motivates me every day”.

We hope that this swimming champ from India wins the Olympic Gold for his nation and makes every Indian feel proud.

Sandeep Sejwal is a swimmer from New Delhi who was born on Jan 23, 1989. He is the current National Champion in 50 m, 100 m and 200 m Breaststroke events. This 22 year old talent, who is also trained Mr Nihar Ameen, became the first Indian Swimmer to qualify for the London Olympics 2012. He clocked 1:02.92s in the 100m breaststroke event at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai and hence qualified for the Olympics. He had contested in two events in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing but had failed to reach the finals in both events. He considers the past as a morale booster and hopes to make a mark in the London Olympics this time.

After qualifying for the Olympics, Sejwal said, “its a dream for any athelete of the world to qualify for the Olympics and represent his country” but he is among those and has got this opportunity for the second time. He added, “I still have one year to train before the Olympics. In a way it’s good that I qualified so early. It will help me in preparing myself better as I can train for longer without any pressure till the Olympics”. For this success Sejwal says that he is highly thankful to his mom and his coach he said that without them it would have been almost impossible to reach at such a high level. He said, “hard work and focus are the main objects to perform well at any tournament”. May this 22 year champ reach the heights of success in his career and get India the medal in swimming at the Olympics 2012.