Paris Olympics: Decoding Dhinidhi Desinghu, the 14-year-old swimming sensation

Dhinidhi Desinghu will represent India in swimming at the Paris Olympics (X/virenrasquinha)

At 14, an Indian athlete is not usually ready to be thrown into the deep end. This time, at the Paris Olympics, there is a difference, as Dhinidhi Desinghu represents India in the swimming pool. Usually, at this age, athletes struggle to be in top shape and form for the Nationals. But this young girl, who trains in Bengaluru at an academy run by Nihar Ameen, will showcase her talent in the 200m freestyle, after getting a spot through the Universality quota from FINA, the world swimming body.

For someone who did not like water initially, the last few years have been good. The story goes that her parents were keen she took to sport, and swimming was a great option. The Garden City has produced swimmers in the past, Nisha Millet included. But Dhinidhi is barely a teenager and already making a splash.

To be sure, Jesitha, Dhinidhi’s mother, pushed her child along. Jesitha ensured there was no fear of water, but the swimming level which she wanted her daughter to reach was totally different. It is well known that India have not a single Asian Games medallist in the pool since Sandeep Sejwal in the 50m breaststroke at the 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea.

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Virdhawal Khade was considered promising and won Asian Games bronze in 2010 before fading away. Dhinidhi and Srihari Nataraj, who will also be competing in Paris, are two different swimmers. Srihari has not lived up to his potential, but Dhinidhi showed her composure at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year despite the harsh glare of the spotlight being on her.

She did not win a medal there, given the high standards in aquatics, but to win seven medals at the last edition of the National Games was a big deal. The centre in Bengaluru where Dhinidhi trains is well equipped and she is personally monitored by coach Madhu Kumar.

According to Meenakshi Pahuja, a seasoned swimmer who runs her own academy in New Delhi, Dhinidhi is a great talent. Meenakshi used to be an active swimmer three decades back and then shifted to open water swimming, which included an assault on the English Channel.

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Dhinidhi is aware that the expectation levels in India will soar. “I realised that whatever I see on the screen in swimming is nothing like real life,” she said of her Asian Games experience. “Standing on those starting blocks compared to watching on TV is so different. It felt a little scary but it has really helped me. I learned how the other competitors swim over there, how they focus on their food and how the (Athletes) Village feels like.”

Surely at 14, if she is mentored well and sent abroad for training, she can improve on her timings. From Khazan Singh, who won silver at the Asian Games in 1986, till now, the story of Indian swimming has been of how talent has not been nurtured well. In the case of Dhinidhi, her parents’ support has taken her this far.

In exclusive arrangement with RevSportz