Top 5 achievements by Indian swimmers

There may not be any hyped films or documentaries about Indian sportspersons from the swimming discipline till date. However, that does not mean that swimmers hailing from India do not have quite a few feathers in their hats to boast of.

Here are the top 5 achievements by Indian swimmers in various events acorss the globe so far.

1. Sachin Nag

Sachin Nag

Born in Varanasi to a humble Bengali family in the year 1920, Sachin Nag is easily the first ever pioneer among Indian swimmers till date. He was the first ever Indian to qualify for the Olympics in this discipline, setting a record during the national qualifiers. He also qulaified in the Water Polo discipline.

Nag had been participating in local swimming events in the Ganges and had won the 10 km and 6 km races quite a few times. He went on to become the state champion 11 times and the All India champion thrice. His biggest achievements include a gold medal in 100 meters freestyle at the 1951 Asian Games along with two bronze medals in 400 meter freestyle relay and 300 meters medley relay.

2. Sufyan Shaikh

Sufyan Shaikh

Swimming across the English Channel may be a benchmark for all open water swimmers out there, but Sufyan Shaikh has taken it not one, but 10 steps further by becoming the first ever Indian to swim across 10 seas! Yes, you read that right!

Shaikh can boast of swimming across Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf Of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Indian Ocean and East China Sea. Along with this, he has also been a recipient of the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award. H

ailing from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, this 20 something that has put Indian open water swimmers on the global map.

3. Bhakti Sharma

Bhakti Sharma

Another Indian open water swimmer who is bringing laurels to the nation, Bhakti Sharma recently became the youngest swimmer and the first Asian girl to swim for 1.4 miles in the Antarctic Ocean all in the course of just 52 minutes.

The freezing water was at a temperature of 1 degree celcius and 25-year-old Bhakti braved the cold to beat earlier records set by British and American swimmers. She has been practicing open water swimming for 10 years now and is a recipient of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award.

4. Virdhawal Khade

Virdhawal Khade

One of the most promising names among the contemporary lot of Indian swimmers, Virdhawal Khade is the first Indian to have gained a spot in the top 100 names of the FINA World Rankings 2008.

This 1991-born Kolhapur lad made the country proud by becoming the first ever Indian swimmer to compete in 3 events at the Olympic games. He participated in the 50, 100 and 200 m Freestyle at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Arjuna awardee, Khade bagged the bronze medal in 50 m butterlfy at the 2010 Asian Games. He recently won 5 medals at the 35th National Games held in Kerala of which 3 were gold.

5. Sandeep Sejwal

Sandeep Sejwal

Another hot favourite among the current lot of swimmers in India, Sandeep Sejwal is the first Indian to have qualified for a breaststroke event in any Olympic Games. Born in 1989, this young swimmer swam in the 100 and 200 meters breaststroke at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Like Khade, Sejwal too has been given the coveted Arjuna Award. Sejwal bagged the bronze medal in the 50 m breaststroke event at the 2014 Asian Games.