Best 5 Winnings of Indian Swimmers

There may not be any famous movies or documentaries showcasing Indian sportspersons from the swimming discipline till date. However, this does not mean that swimmers hailing from India do not have great winnings to boast of. 

Here is the list of top 5 achievements by Indian swimmers in various events around the world so far.

Sachin Nag

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

He kept participating in local swimming events in the Ganges and had won the 10 km and 6 km races quite a few times. Then, he went on for becoming the state champion 11 times and the All India champion thrice. The biggest achievements of his life 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.

Sufyan Shaikh
Swimming across the English Channel might be a benchmark for all open water swimmers out there, but Sufyan Shaikh has been able to take it not one, but 10 steps ahead by being the first ever Indian to swim across 10 seas! Yes, you read that right!

He 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. Apart from this, he has also been a recipient of the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.

Bhakti Sharma
She is another Indian open water swimmer who is bringing laurels to the nation. She 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 only 52 minutes.

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

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

He is 1991-born from Kolhapur. He made the country proud by becoming the first ever Indian swimmer to compete in 3 events at the Olympic games. He has taken part in the 50, 100 and 200 m Freestyle at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He is an Arjuna awardee and has also bagged the bronze medal in 50 m butterfly at the 2010 Asian Games. Recently, he won 5 medals at the 35th National Games held in Kerala of which 3 were gold.

Sandeep Sejwal
Another 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. He is born in 1989 and this young swimmer swam in the 100 and 200 meters breaststroke at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.sportskeeda.com/swimming/top-5-achievements-by-indian-swimmers/5