India is a tropical country with a very hot and humid climate. This climate causes immense discomfort to the people living in the country. The favourite chilling pastime is swimming to release the heat from the body during the heat wave. Swimming is a common hobby for people living around water bodies and in villages where the children are taught to swim at a very young age.
Top Swimmers
Swimming does not remain just a hobby nowadays with many Indians achieving great titles and prizes in swimming at the international level. These swimmers have won multiple tournaments and competitions and made the country proud at the international level. The following are the Top 5 Swimmers of India.
Shikha Tandon:
Shikha Tandon is India’s champion swimmer having won National level medals and 36 international medals. She is a very successful swimmer from Bangalore and started her career at the tender age of 12 by winning a bronze medal at the National level. She represented India at the Asian Games when she was 13 and represented India at the World Championship at the age of 16. At the 57th Senior National Aquatic Championship in 2003, was declared best swimmer for the third consecutive year.
Aaron D’Souza:
Aaron D’Souza is one of the most successful Indian swimmers. He was trained at the prestigious Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre. He won one silver and one bronze medal in the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games and went on to win a silver in the 50m freestyle swimming and the games held in 2010 at Dhaka. He also won two bronze medals at the 2009 Asian Swimming Championships and also won another bronze along with gold at the Junior Asian games. He won one gold, two silvers and two bronzes at the 2009 Asian Age Group Championship.
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Aditi Dhumatkar:
Born in the year 1991, Aditi Dhumatkar was trained is the Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association. She is a celebrated swimmer who has won many tournaments and championships. Her most recent achievement is from the year 2016 when she won two gold medals and one silver medal at the 70th Glenmark Senior National Aquatic Championship.
Virdhawal Khade:
Born in Maharashtra, ViradhawalKhade competed in the men’s 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m Freestyle swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and set an Indian National record at 100m freestyle while winning his group, failed to qualify for the semi-finals in his events. He won a medal after 24 years for India in swimming in the 50m butterfly category at the 2010 Asian games.
Rehan Poncha:
Rehan Poncha is a 5-time Indian swimming champion and a 6-time record holder in the butterfly stroke. He is a celebrated national champion and has represented India in various international competitions. He was the part of the Indian squad to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 after clearing the competition standard time in Australia. He came second in the quarterfinals and thus wasn’t selected for the semi-finals. He also won the bronze medal in 4×100 m medley with his teammates at the 2009 Asian Swimming Championships held at Foshan, China.