Indians @ the Commonwealth Youth Games – Virdhawal rules the pool

The swimming pool turned out to be the most happening place at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, which played host to the Commonwealth Youth Games from 12-18 October 2008, thanks to the exploits of Virdhawal Khade who captured the imagination of everyone present. No one wanted to miss the chance to watch history in the making where Australian and British swimmers were left in the wake of an Indian swimmer. With each gold Virdhawal won the voices singing the National Anthem during the victory ceremony kept getting louder making every Indian proud.

At the Commonwealth Youth Games the participants have to be 18yrs and under to participate. Virdhawal, who turned 17 in the end of August, had a tough schedule as he had to swim eight events (5 Individual and 3 Relays) over a span of just 3 days. He went on to finish the meet becoming the most decorated athlete of the Games winning three gold medals, w/ new meet records, and two silver medals out of his five individual events. In the two events where Virdhawal won silver he got touched out by Australian swimmers a year older to him. He also helped the Indian 4*100m Freestyle relay team win a silver medal. Four new national records were rewritten at the Games. His results were as follows:

50m Freestyle – 22.68sec Gold (New meet and National record)

100m Freestyle – 49.47sec Gold (New meet and National record)

200m Freestyle – 1min 49.86sec Silver (New National record)

50m Butterfly – 24.25sec Gold (New meet and National record)

100m Butterfly – 54.01sec Silver (Personal best)

Check the following to get a sense of the quality of swims:

• In the 100m Freestyle, Virdhawal swam over half a second faster than the World Youth Swimming Championship Record, which was set in Mexico in July this year, and would feature second to only Ian Thorpe in the 18yrs and under category in the Australian All-time ranking.
• Virdhawal's timings are quicker than Eamon Sullivan's timings when Eamon was 18yrs old. Sullivan (now 23yrs old) is from Australia and is the current world record holder in the 50m and 100m Freestyle.
• First Indian to break into the top 150 FINA World Rankings in 2008. Achieved it in three events this year. Ranked No. 57 in the 50m Butterfly, No. 79 in the 100m Freestyle and No. 105 in the 50m Freestyle per the FINA World Swimming Rankings 2008 (last updated on 15-Oct-08). In the 50m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle Virdhawal is the youngest in the top 100.
• Amongst the fastest in Asia. His times in the 50m and 100m Freestyle would have fetched him silver medals at the Doha 2006 Asian Games.
  
• First person from the Indian sub-continent to swim under 50sec in the 100m Freestyle and 1min 50sec in the 200m Freestyle.
  

For those who missed all the action, here is a glimpse.

Virdhawal winning gold in the 50m Freestyle Finals

Virdhawal winning gold in the 100m Freestyle Finals

The only other Indian swimmer to win a medal was 16-year-old Aaron D’souza. Despite racing with boys a couple of years older to him he went on to win a bronze medal in the 200m Butterfly. Aaron came close to winning a medal on three other occasions; he finished 4^th in the 100m Freestyle and 5^th in the 100m Butterfly and 200m Freestyle. Aaron’s biggest improvements came in the freestyle events. His results are as follows:

50m Butterfly – 25.93sec

100m Butterfly – 56.60sec 5^th

200m Butterfly – 2min 03.43sec Bronze

100m Freestyle – 51.52sec 4^th

200m Freestyle – 1min 53.22sec 5^th

18-year-old J. Agnishwar made it to the finals in all the events he swam. He finished 4^th in the 200m IM, 6^th in the 50 and 200m Breaststroke and 8^th in the 100m Breaststroke. He swam personal bests in all his events.

In comparison, the performance from the girls was disappointing and the only ones to make the finals were: Pooja Alva (6^th and 8^th in the 100 and 200m Butterfly respectively), Fariha Zaman (7^th in the 50m Backstroke) and Arahata Magavi (8^th in the 50m Butterfly).

The Indian team consisted of:

Boys: Virdhawal Khade, Aaron D’Souza, N.A. Sandeep, Nishit Shah, Praveen Tokas, Ashwin Menon, J.P. Agnishwar, Jashan Deep Singh, Aditya Sangvekar and A.P. Gagan.

Girls: Fariah Zaman, Arhatha Magavi, Pooja R. Alva, Talasha Prabhu, Kshipra Mahajan, Heta Dave, M.M. Venbha, Aarti Ghorpade, Lekha Kamath, Poorva Shetty and Krunal Bhosale.

Click here to get the entire results.

Virdhawal Khade breaks the 50m Butterfly National record @ Junior Nationals

Olympian Virdhawal Khade continued his record breaking spree. He broke the National record in the 50m Butterfly at the Junior National Aquatic championships held at Amritsar from 31 August - 4 September. He clocked a time of 24.78sec to better the previous National record of 24.91sec which he had set at the Malaysia Open in May this year.

Virdhawal who swam the Junior Nationals as a train-through meet showed his class as he beat his competition by huge margins. He won all his events with new Junior National records and finished with the Best Male swimmer title.

Click here to get all the Junior National Swimming results (courtesy PDAAA - Pune District Amateur Aquatic Association).

Sandeep Sejwal too breaks into the World top 100

Olympian Sandeep Sejwal's amazing swims at the Beijing Olympic Games helped him become the first Indian swimmer to break into the top 100 in the world this year in two events - 100 and 200m Breaststroke.

Sandeep was ranked 92 and 96 in the 100 and 200m Breaststroke respectively (as of 17-Aug-08) as per FINA's World ranking.

In July this year Virdhawal Khade became the first Indian swimmer to break into the top 100 in the world this year in the 50m Freestyle.

Swimming is amongst the biggest sports in terms of participation and just making it into the World ranking list, i.e. top 150, is highly creditable considering the number of swimmers that compete around the world. Indian swimmers are steadily climbing up the ranks and making their presence felt in World swimming.

Go India Go!!

Day 6 of swimming @ the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Day 6 of swimming action at the Water Cube saw two Indians competing. Virdhawal Khade in the 50m Freestyle and Ankur Poseria in the 100m Butterfly.

Kolhapur boy Virdhawal Khade was the first to take the plunge and clocked a time of 22.73sec in the 50m Freestyle to finish 7^th in his heat and 40 out of 97 overall. His time was 0.04sec off his best time of 22.69sec (National Record), which he clocked at last month's World Youth Swimming Championship semi-final. He was the fastest amongst those his age and younger and ranked third among the Asians.

Virdhawal, at the age of just 16, is well below the average age of a world class sprinter. The youngest and oldest to qualify for the semi-finals were 21 and 31yrs respectively. Based on the timings he is clocking today, in four years time Virdhawal will definitely be a force to reckon with. Virdhawal's next big meet is the Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune in October.

US based Indian swimmer, Ankur Poseria, was the next and last among the Indians to take the plunge. He clocked a time of 54.74sec in the 100m Butterfly and finished 57 out of 65 overall. His time was well below his best time of 53.68sec (National Record) which he clocked last December to qualify for the Olympic Games. Ankur has only recently started representing India in the big events and it will take him some time before he gets comfortable racing at this level.

With this the Indian participation at the Water Cube drew to a close. Among the four Indian swimmers Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade stood out recording two and one best time respectively. Overall it has been a good experience for the Indian swimmers and I'm confident we shall see many of these faces back in the pool four years from now fighting it out for medals.

Day 4 of swimming @ the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Virdhawal Khade, Nihar Ameen (coach) and Sandeep Sejwal

The Water Cube witnessed new Indian National records being made by Virdhawal Khade, in the 100m Freestyle, and Sandeep Sejwal, in the 200m Breaststroke, on Day 4 of swimming at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

16-year-old teen sensation Virdhawal Khade was the first among the two to take the plunge. He swam an amazing 100m Freestyle clocking a time of 50.07sec which is faster than his previous best time, which was also the National record, of 50.49sec which he clocked at the World Youth Swimming Championships last month. He won his heat and finished 42/64 overall. The quality of the swim can be judged by the fact that:
• He would have won the gold medal at last month's World Youth Swimming Championships
• This time would also have got him a bronze medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
• He finished as the third fastest Asian and the fastest among those his age or younger.

19-year-old Sandeep Sejwal was the next to race. Brimming with confidence after a good show in the 100m Breaststroke on the first day, where he improved by 1.39sec, he went on to cut almost three seconds in the 200m Breaststroke to stop the clock at 2:15.24sec. His previous best time, which was also the National record, was 2:18.23sec which he clocked at the Malaysia Open in May this year to qualify for the Olympic Games. He finished second in his heat and 36/52 overall. He ranked 5th fastest among the Asians.

Day 3 of swimming @ the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

It was Rehan Poncha's turn to take the plunge. Rehan swam well in the 200m Butterfly heats clocking a time of 2:01.89sec. He finished second in his heat and 40/44 overall. His time ranked him 8^th among the Asians.

One must keep in mind that he had little time to fine tune for the Games as he qualified only a month back.

Day 2 of swimming @ the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Day two saw the 16-year-old Indian swimming sensation, Virdhawal Khade, swim his first event - 200m Freestyle heats. He finished seventh in his heat and 48/57 overall with a decent time of 1:51.86sec. Among swimmers his age and younger Virdhawal ranked no. 2 and among the Asian swimmers he ranked no. 7. Virdhawal is still very raw and has a long way to go. The experience he gains from each swim will only make him stronger for the future.

Virdhawal came to the Olympic Games after peaking at last month's World Youth Swimming Championships held in Monterrey, Mexico and hence is going to find it tough to match his best timings that he clocked last month.

Day 1 of swimming @ the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The much awaited action has begun at the Water Cube, the state-of-the-art aquatic venue. For the first time ever the heats are being held in the evening and the semi-finals and finals are being held in the morning so that it fits in the prime-time slot for the US audience (hail NBC). USA has for long dominated the swimming events and with Michael Phelps leading the charge again it will be interesting to see if things would be different.

Sandeep Sejwal was the first Indian swimmer to take the plunge. Sandeep swam an amazing 100m Breaststroke in the heats breaking two National records in that one swim. He swam the first 50m in 29.08sec, which is faster than the previous National record of 29.28sec, and then went on to stop the clock at 1:02.19sec, which is faster than the previous National record of 1:03.58sec. Both the the earlier records were also in Sandeep's name. Sandeep finished second in his heat and 38/63 overall. Sandeep's time ranks him 5th among the Asians.

It was quite sad to see that the majority of the India media focused on the fact that he did not qualify for the semi-finals, which from the very start was out of reach, and completely ignored the fact that he swam very well improving by 1.39sec.

The six weeks spent at the Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, USA prior to the Beijing Olympic Games seems to have made a difference. All eyes will now be on the 200m Breaststroke which is on 12^th August.

Introducing the Indian Swim Team @ the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

* Virdhawal Khade:

This 16-year-old hails from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He is going to be one of the youngest participants at the Beijing Olympic Games. He was the first and the youngest-ever Indian swimmer to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games. He has gone faster than the Olympic Qualifying time in three events - 50, 100 and 200m Freestyle - becoming the first Indian to do so. He currently holds the National record in five events - 50, 100, 200 and 400m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly. His time in the 50m Freestyle is currently tied-fastest time in Asia this year. His highest world rank this year is 85 in the 50m Freestyle.

In India, he trains at the K.C. Reddy Swim Center, Bangalore under Coach Nihar Ameen.

Virdhawal is being funded by the Mittal Champions Trust and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through their National Sports Development Fund. He is also the first Brand Ambassador for SPEEDO in India.

Events: 50m Freestyle (14-Aug-08 between 4-4.28pm IST)
100m Freestyle (12-Aug-08 between 4-4.40pm IST)
200m Freestyle (10-Aug-08 between 4.24-5.08pm IST)

Go Veer Go!!

* Sandeep Sejwal:

This 19-year-old hails from New Delhi. He is pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Arts from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He is the first Indian Breaststroke swimmer to qualify for an Olympic Games. He is the National Champion and National Record holder in the 50, 100 and 200m Breaststroke. In 2008, he reached the highest world rank of 144 in the 50m and 200m Breaststroke.

In India, he trains at the K.C. Reddy Swim Center, Bangalore under Coach Nihar Ameen.

Sandeep is funded by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through their National Sports Development Fund.

Events: 100m Breaststroke (9-Aug-08 between 6.15-6.38pm IST)
200m Breaststroke (12-Aug-08 between 5.14-5.41pm IST)

Go Sandeep Go!!

* Ankur Poseria:

21-year-old Ankur Poseria trains and studies at the University of Southern California, USA where he is pursuing a Bachelors Degree in International Relations. Ankur currently holds the National Record in the 100m Butterfly. In 2008, he reached the highest world rank of 107 in the 50m Freestyle.

He trains under Coach Dave Salo, a highly reputed US coach.

Event(s): 100m Butterfly (14-Aug-08 between 5.10-5.44pm IST)

Go Ankur Go!!

* Rehan Poncha:

This 22-year-old is the oldest amongst the four and was the last to hop on the flight to Beijing. He has been based in Bangalore for over a decade and is pursuing his Degree (BA in Psychology and Journalism) at Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore. He is the National Record holder in the 200 and 400m IM, 200m Backstroke and 200m Butterfly.

In India, he trains at the Basavangudi Aquatic Center, Bangalore under Coach Pradeep Kumar.

Event(s): 200m Butterfly (11-Aug-08 between 4.38-5.01pm IST)

Go Rehan Go!!

My experience at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Deccan Chronicle Bangalore - 21st July 2008

Indians @ the 2nd FINA World Youth Swimming Championships at Monterrey, Mexico – Virdhawal Khade is the fastest swimmer in Asia, so far, this year

India’s top youth swimmers, 18yrs and under for the boys and 17yrs and under for the girls, participated in the 2nd FINA World Youth Swimming Championships at Monterrey, Mexico from 8-13 July 2008.

No Indian swimmer won a medal here, but Virdhawal Khade’s performances made everyone sit up and take notice. Virdhawal, who will celebrate his 17th birthday in the end of August, was racing with boys a year older to him. Virdhawal went on to become the first and only Indian swimmer, so far, to make the finals, top 8, of an event of this magnitude. In each of his main events – 50, 100 and 200m Freestyle – he created new National Records and swam faster than the previous World Youth Championship records. The maximum time gap that separated him from a medal was 0.63sec (in the 200m Freestyle).


Virdhawal’s best finish came in the 50m Freestyle where he finished 5th with time of 22.95sec (this time would have earned him a bronze medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games). In the semi-finals, Virdhawal clocked an amazing time of 22.69sec. With this time he: is currently tied-fastest Asian swimmer this year/ would have won a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games/ is currently ranked no. 86 in the World this year (click here for the list)/ was faster than the previous championship record time of 22.74sec. He also broke Olympian Sebastian Xavier’s 10-year-old National record time of 22.89sec. Three out of the four swimmers who swam faster than Virdhawal were a year older to him. He missed getting onto the medal podium by 0.25sec.

In the 100m Freestyle Virdhawal finished 7th with a time of 50.70sec. Five out of the six swimmers who swam faster than Virdhawal were a year older to him. Virdhawal missed getting onto the medal podium by 0.37sec. In the semi-finals, Virdhawal clocked 50.49sec creating a new National Record. The previous National Record was held by him with a time of 50.66sec that he set in May this year.

In the 200m Freestyle Virdhawal finished 6th with a time of 1:50.35sec. Three out of the five swimmers who swam faster than Virdhawal were a year older to him. Virdhawal missed getting onto the medal podium by 0.63sec. He bettered his previous National Record time of 1:51.65sec set by him in May this year.

India finished 24th with 36 points with Virdhawal being the sole contributor – 13, 11 and 12 points in the 50, 100 and 200m Freestyle respectively.

According to Virdhawal’s coach, Mr. Nihar Ameen, two things became apparent during the course of the competition, the first was that Virdhawal has what it takes to be among the best in the world and second that Virdhawal is very inexperienced and needs to compete more at this level.

The results of the other Indian swimmers are as follows:
Agnishwar Jayaprakash (1990):
50m Breaststroke – finished 26th with a time of 30.30sec
200m IM – finished 28th with a time of 2:13.54sec
200m Breaststroke – finished 32nd with a time of 2:33.18sec
100m Breaststroke – finished 36th with a time of 1:08.55sec

Sandeep Nagaranthal (1990):
50m Backstroke – finished 34th with a time of 28.22sec
100m Backstroke – finished 44th with a time of 1:01.24sec
50m Freestyle – finished 51st with a time of 25.24sec

Ashwin Menon (1991):
100m Backstroke – finished 49th with a time of 1:02.00sec
50m Backstroke – finished 51st with a time of 29.55sec

Aaron D’souza (1992):
200m Butterfly – finished 18th with a time of 2:05.01sec
100m Butterfly – finished 31st with a time of 57.19sec
100m Freestyle – finished 34th with a time of 52.99sec
200m Freestyle – finished 49th with a time of 1:57.97sec

Siddhant Deshmukh (1992):
100m Butterfly – finished 42nd with a time of 58.50sec
50m Butterfly – finished 62nd with a time of 27.37sec

Fariha Zaman (1991):
50m Backstroke – finished 32nd with a time of 31.96sec
100m Backstroke – finished 39th with a time of 1:09.72sec

Surabi Tipre (1993):
1500m Freestyle – finished 22nd with a time of 18:44.75sec
400m Freestyle – finished 34th with a time of 4:40.81sec
800m Freestyle – finished 35th with a time of 9:39.99sec
200m Freestyle – finished 47th with a time of 2:16.80sec


Click here for all the results.

Kolhapur to Beijing Freestyle!

Hindustan Times Mumbai - 24th July 2008

Deccan Chronicle Bangalore - 24th July 2008

Pratham Books have come up with a novel idea to wish Virdhawal Khade luck. A 164 feet long (the size of an Olympics swimming pool i.e. 50m) greeting card, will be given to Khade. Those wanting to wish Khade can e-mail: info@prathambooks.org on or before July 25.

Click here to drop Virdhawal a line.

Indians @ the Telstra Grand Prix – Rehan earns his ticket to Beijing

Three Indian swimmers – Rehan Poncha, Shikha Tandon and Rohit Havaldar – participated in the Telstra Grand Prix, Sydney (Australia) from 4-6th July 2008. This meet presented these swimmers with the last chance to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games. In this meet the Prelims were in the evening and the Semi-finals and Finals were in the morning, like the way it is going to be at the Beijing Olympic Games.


Rehan Poncha was the only one who made the most of the opportunity and became the fourth and last Indian swimmer to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games. He clocked a time of 2:01.40sec, which is faster than the Olympic Qualifying time of 2:01.79sec, to finish 5th in the 200m Buttefly. The 22-year-old Rehan also went on to better Khazan Singh's National record of 2:02.38sec which was set in the year he was born.

Rehan Poncha trains at the Basvangudi Aquatic Centre, Bangalore under National coach Pradeep Kumar.

Shikha again narrowly missed the flight to Beijing. She clocked 26.53sec, which was 0.21sec slower than the qualifying time, in a separate time-trial. Earlier in the prelims she clocked 26.89sec.

Rohit Havaldar finished 6th in the 200m Backstroke with a time of 2:16.57sec. In the 200m Freestyle he finished 13th with a time of 1:58.40sec, in the prelims he had clocked 1:57.26sec. In the 400m Freestyle he finished 8th with a time of 4:09.40sec, in the prelims he had clocked 4:04.65sec

Impossible to Possible - the story of Indian swimming

Deccan Chronicle Bangalore - 7th July 2008

Indians @ the 4th Singapore National Swimming Championships 2008

A group of India’s top swimmers – Virdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal, Shikha Tandon, Rohit Havaldar and Aaron D’souza – participated in the 4^th Singapore National Swimming Championships 2008, held from 4- 8^th June. This event was a designated Olympic Qualifying event.

It served as a good preparatory meet for the Olympic qualified swimmers – Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal – and an opportunity for the others to earn their Olympic berth.

Virdhawal Khade won two gold medals – 50m Freestyle (23.38sec – meet record) and 200m Freestyle (1min 53.57sec), one silver medal – 100m Freestyle (51.69sec) – and one bronze medal – 50m Butterfly (25.33sec).

Sandeep Sejwal finished 3^rd overall in the 200m Breaststroke (2:21.38sec) and 5^th overall in the 50m Breaststroke (29.96sec).

Both Virdhawal and Sandeep were swimming this meet in the middle of a high intensity training cycle and did not taper for this meet. Taking this into consideration their performances were creditable.

Shikha Tandon won one gold medal – 50m Freestyle (26.38sec – meet record) – and one bronze medal – 100m Freestyle (58.26sec). In the 50m Freestyle, she again came excruciatingly close to making the Olympic cut, this time missing it by 0.06sec.

Rohit Havaldar won two gold medals – 200m Backstroke (2:08.29sec – meet record) and 1500m Freestyle (16:24.12sec) – and two silver medals – 200m Freestyle (1:57.24sec) and 400m Freestyle (4:04.39sec).

Aaron D’souza won a gold medal – 200m Butterfly (2:03.93sec), finished 5^th in the 100m Freestyle (53.51sec) and finished 6^th overall in the 100m Butterfly (57.47sec).

The Indian Women’s Association and The India Club organized interactive sessions with Olympic qualified swimmers – Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal – at the Indian High Commission. Through events like these we hope more Indians living abroad will get excited about the talent that exists in India.

Virdhawal and Sandeep with a few of the kids at the event

Indian swimmers making a mark on the world stage

Finally Indian swimmers are making their presence felt on the world stage. Virdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal and Ankur Poseria have forged their way into the world ranking breaking into the top 150 in the world this year.

As per the FINA world ranking, updated on May 11th 2008, the swimmers were ranked:

Ankur Poseria

• 107 in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 22.99sec which he clocked at the 2008 Post NCAA Men's Long Course Invitational

Virdhawal Khade

• 125 in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 23.03sec which he clocked at the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Open Swimming Championships 2008
• 125 in the 50m Butterfly with a time of 24.91sec which he clocked at the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Open Swimming Championships 2008

Sandeep Sejwal

• 144 in the 50m Breaststroke with a time of 29.28sec which he clocked at the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Open Swimming Championships 2008
• 144 in the 200m Breaststroke with a time of 2min 18.23sec which he clocked at the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Open Swimming Championships 2008

Indians @ the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitation Open – Sandeep Sejwal also qualifies for the Beijing Olympic Games

Five of India’s top swimmers – Virdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal, Shikha Tandon, Rohit Havaldar and Rehan Poncha – took part in the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitation Open at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 1-4^th May 2008. This event was a FINA recognized Olympic qualifying tournament.

The Indians put up a great performance. Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal were the stars as they went on to swim under the Olympic qualifying time in three events – 50, 100 and 200m Freestyle – and two events – 100 and 200m Breaststroke – respectively. Virdhawal is the first ever Indian swimmer to swim under the Olympic qualifying time in more than two events. Virdhawal’s and Sandeep’s performances at this meet have put Indian swimming on the world map as they both are currently ranked in the top 150 in the world. Also, for the first time in our history we have an Indian swimmer who is on the verge of breaking the 50sec barrier in the 100m Freestyle and the 1min 50sec barrier in the 200m Freestyle.

16-year-old Virdhawal Khade, who was the first and youngest Indian swimmer to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games, won three gold medals with new meet records – 50 and 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly – and two silver medals – 200 and 400m Freestyle. He also went on to create four National records – 100, 200 and 400m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly.
His times were:
50m Freestyle – 23.03sec (Gold, Meet Record)
100m Freestyle – 50.66sec (Gold, Meet Record and National Record)
200m Freestyle – 1min 51.65sec (Silver, National Record)
400m Freestyle – 4min 01.87sec (Silver, National Record)
50m Butterfly – 24.91sec (Gold, Meet Record and National Record)

19-year-old Sandeep Sejwal won two gold medals with new meet records – 100 and 200m Breaststroke – and one silver – 50m Breaststroke. He went on create National records in all his events – 50, 100 and 200m Breaststroke.
His times were:
100m Breaststroke – 1min 03.58sec
200m Breaststroke – 2min 18.23sec
50m Breaststroke – 29.28sec

23-year-old Shikha Tandon also had a great meet. She won a gold medal in the 100m Freestyle and a silver medal in the 50m Freestyle. She created National records in both her events – 50 and 100m Freestyle. In the 50m Freestyle she missed the Olympic qualifying mark by 0.05sec (it takes a person longer to blink).
Her times were:
50m Freestyle – 26.37sec
100m Freestyle – 57.98sec

21-year-old Rehan Poncha went on to win two gold medals – 200m Individual Medley and 200m Backstroke – and two silver medals – 100 and 200m Butterfly. He created a National record in the 200m Individual Medley.
His times were:
200m Individual Medley – 2:08.33sec
200m Backstroke – 2:09.38sec
100m Butterfly – 56.61sec
200m Butterfly – 2:02.90sec

18-year-old Rohit Havaldar won one silver medal in the 1500m Freestyle and one bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke.
His times were:
1500m Freestyle – 16:28.20sec
200m Backstroke – 2:10.29sec
400m Freestyle – 4:02.10sec
200m Freestyle – 1:57.0sec

9th FINA World Swimming Championships (Short Course i.e. 25m)

The 9^th FINA World Swimming Championships was held at Manchester, Great Britain from 9-13^th April. The M.E.N. Arena, the largest indoor arena in Europe that is known to host some of the biggest touring acts, was converted to be the venue for this meet. This was the fastest ever championships with eighteen World Records being created. Click here to get the list of World Records and Championship Records created.

Ryan Lochte (USA) and Kristy Coventry (Zimbabwe) were named the best swimmers in the male and female category respectively. They broke 3 World Records each.

Men’s 50m Freestyle in which Duje Draganja from Croatia created a new World Record.

Ankur Poseria, who studies and trains at the University of Southern California, was the lone Indian representative.

Ankur got off to a great start as he swam a sizzling 100m Butterfly on the first day. He finished a very respectable 22^nd with a time of 52.96sec. He missed making the semi-finals (top 16) by 0.34. This is probably the closest an Indian swimmer has ever come to making a semi-final at the World Championships. Using a Short Course (25m) to Long Course (50m) converter we get a time of 53.60sec.

On the second day he swam the 50m Freestyle in which he finished 40^th with a time of 23.12sec. This roughly translates to a long course time of 23.81sec.

On the third day he swam the 50m Butterfly in which he finished 31^st with a time of 24.50sec.

On the fourth day he swam the 100m Freestyle in which he finished 47^th with a time of 51.14sec. This roughly translates to a long course time of 52.67sec.

Click here for all the results.

Indians @ 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships – Day 6, 7and 8

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 6:

50m Breaststroke Prelims and Semi-finals: Sandeep Sejwal clocked a time of 29.91 to finish joint 12th in the Prelims.
Later in the evening Sandeep clocked 30.48 to finish 15th in the Semifinals.
Sandeep’s best time is 29.36 (National record).

Men’s 50m Freestyle Semi-Finals (Eamon Sullivan breaks the World record):


Women’s 100m Freestyle Finals (Lisbeth Trickett breaks the World record):



The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 7:

Women’s 50m Freestyle Prelims: Shikha Tandon clocked a time of 26.87 to finish 23rd.
Shikha holds the National record with a time of 26.50 set in 2003.
The Olympic qualifying time is 26.32

1500m Freestyle Prelims: Mandar Divase clocked a time of 16:18.09 to finish 17th. Rohit Havaldar clocked a time of 16:38.23 to finish 19th.
Mandar holds the National record with a time of 16:17.58.
The Olympic qualifying time is 15:45.12.

Men’s 50m Freestyle Finals (Eamon Sullivan breaks the World record):



The Indian team's bid to get a few more berths at the Beijing Olympic Games ended unsuccessfully today. The only bright spark was Shikha’s National record in the 100m Freestyle. The fact that all non-Australian swimmers were allowed to swim only in the morning prelims, in Olympic events, made it that much more tougher for the Indians to get the elusive qualifying time.

It was unfortunate that Virdhawal Khade, who was in great form in lead up to these championships, could not participate due to an injury. He is back in the water and is expected to race at the Australian Age-group Championships from April 9-13 at Brisbane. It was a year back, almost to the day, when Virdhawal swam an amazing 200m Freestyle at the 2007 Melbourne World Swimming Championships to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The swimmers will now head back to their respective training bases in preparation for the next Olympic qualifying meet.


Day 8:

Women's 50m Freestyle Finals (Lisbeth Trickett breaks the World record):

Indians @ 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships – Day 5

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 5:

100m Freestyle Prelims (Women): Shikha Tandon clocked 58.09 to finish 34^th. This is Shikha’s personal best time and is also a new National record. Shikha previous best was 58.32 which she clocked in 2003.
The Olympic qualifying time is 57.17.

200m Individual Medley Prelims: Rehan Poncha clocked 2:10.29 to finish 22^nd.
Rehan holds the National record with a time of 2:08.80.
The Olympic qualifying time is 2:05.65.

800m Freestyle Prelims: Mandar Divase clocked a time of 8:44.44.
The National record is in the name of Aaron D’souza with a time of 8:33.37.

Men's 100m Freestyle finals:

Indians @ 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships – Day 2, 3 and 4

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 2:

200m Freestyle Prelims: Rohit Havaldar clocked 1:59.95 to finish 60^th. Mandar Divase clocked 2:03.61 to finish 63^rd.
The National record is in the name of Virdhawal Khade with a time of 1:52.41.
The Olympic qualifying time is 1:52.53.

100m Backstroke Prelims: Rehan Poncha clocked 1:00.85 to finish 43^rd.
The National record is in the name of Rana Joy Punja with a time of 58.2 set in 1988.
The Olympic qualifying time is 57.7.

Women's 50m Backstroke finals (Sophie Edington breaks the World Record):

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 3:

200m Butterfly Prelims: Rehan Poncha clocked 2:03.73 to finish 11^th. This is Rehan’s personal best time.
The National record is in the name of Khazan Singh Tokas with a time of 2:02.38 set in 1986.
The Olympic qualifying time is 2:01.79.

Men's 200m Freestyle finals:

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 4:

200m Breaststroke Prelims: Sandeep Sejwal clocked 2:21.40 to finish 8^th.
Sandeep holds the National record with a time of 2:19.51.
The Olympic qualifying time is 2:18.37.

Women's 200m IM finals (Stephanie Rice breaks the World Record):

Note:
As per the rules, only swimmers eligible to represent Australia will compete in the semi-final or final of an Australian championship event which is a selection trials for the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games or Pan Pacific Championships. Hence the Indian swimmers are allowed to swim only in the morning prelims.

Indians @ 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships – Day 1

The results of the Indian swimmers on Day 1:

400m IM Prelims: Rehan Poncha clocked 4:34.29 to finish 10^th. Rehan’s best time is 4:33.59 (National Record).
The Olympic qualifying time is 4:27.44.

400m Freestyle Prelims: Rohit Havaldar clocked 4:12.52 to finish 31^st. His best time is 4:05.98.
Mandar Divase clocked 4:14.21 to finish 32^nd.
The National Record is in the name of Rehan Poncha with a time of 4:04.49.
The Olympic qualifying time is 3:58.10.

100m Breaststroke Prelims: Sandeep Sejwal clocked 1:05.49 to finish 11^th. Sandeep’s best time is 1:04.36 (National Record).
The Olympic qualifying is time is 1:03.72.

Note:
As per the rules, only swimmers eligible to represent Australia will compete in the semi-final or final of an Australian championship event which is a selection trials for the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games or Pan Pacific Championships. Hence the Indian swimmers are allowed to swim only in the morning prelims.

Women's 400m IM finals (Stephanie Rice breaks the World Record):


Women's 50m Backstroke semi-finals (Emily Seebohm breaks the World Record):

Indians @ 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships

The 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships is being held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center from 22-29^th March. The Australian team for the Beijing Olympic Games will be chosen here.

This meet will also feature the following top Indian swimmers who are vying to make the Indian Olympic team:

Sandeep Sejwal – 50, 100 and 200m Breaststroke.
Rehan Poncha – 100m Backstroke, 200m Butterfly, 200 and 400m IM
Mandar Divase – 200, 400, 800 and 1500m Freestyle
Rohit Havaldar – 200, 400 and 1500m Freestyle
Shikha Tandon – 50 and 100m Freestyle

Virdhawal Khade, who has already qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games, suffered a minor injury during training earlier this week putting his participation in doubt.

As per the rules, only swimmers eligible to represent Australia will compete in the semi-final or final of an Australian championship event which is a selection trials for the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games or Pan Pacific Championships. Hence the Indian swimmers will be allowed to swim only in the morning heats; this would mean that they will get only one chance in each of their events under non-ideal conditions

Check this earlier post ‘Ladder to Beijing’ to see where things currently stand.

Click here to see the Program of events.
Click here to see the results.
Click here to see the start list.

Indians @ 2008 Zoggs Queensland Sprint Championships

Over the weekend an Indian contingent consisting of Virdhawal Khade (Veer), Sandeep Sejwal and Shikha Tandon - who are currently in Australia on a three month training stint - took part in their first competition in Australia - 2008 Zoggs Queensland Sprint Championships in Brisbane (9/Feb/2008 to 10/Feb/2008). This meet consisted of only 50m events of all the strokes for the following age-groups:
9yrs, 10yrs, 11yrs, 12yrs, 13yrs, 14yrs, 15yrs, 16yrs, 17/18yrs & Open

This is one of the many preparatory weekend meets they be swimming in lead up to the two Olympic qualifying meets - 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships (at Sydney in the end of March; this meet is also the Australian Olympic trials) and 2008 Telstra Grand Prix 1 (at Canberra in the end of April)

On Day 1, Veer and Sandeep won a gold medal each in the 50m Butterfly (16yrs) and 50m Breaststroke (Open) with a time of 25.75sec and 30.16sec respectively. Shikha finished 11th in the 50m Backstroke semi-final with a time 32.68sec.

On Day 2, Veer continued to show good form winning two bronze medals. This is taking into consideration that he had to race eight times (as each Open event had Prelims, Semi-finals and Finals and Age-group event had Prelims and Finals).

Veer's first bronze medal came in the 50m Butterfly (Open) with a time of 25.83 and his second bronze medal came in the 50m Freestyle (16yrs) with a time of 24.08. Veer finished 5th in finals of the 50m Freestyle (Open).

Shikha finished 4th in finals of the 50m Freestyle (Open) with a time of 27.30sec and 13th in the semi-final of the 50m Butterfly (Open) with a time of 30.71sec.

Note: The times are not indicative of their current standards as Veer, Sandeep and Shikha are in the middle of high volume endurance training and they did not rest for this meet.

Click here for the full results.

Click here for the photos.

Senate Royal 4th National Masters Aquatic Championships - 2007

The National Masters meet turned out to be as I had hoped for, full of fun and good experiences. The swimming events of the National Masters Aquatic Championships were held at the Andheri Sports complex and were very well organized by the Greater Mumbai Amateur Aquatic Association (GMAAA). Considering that there were 650 swimmers from all over the country participating, the organizers did a great job of ensuring that the events were conducted smoothly.

It was quite a nostalgic experience for me as it was at the same pool that I swam my last Senior Nationals in December 1999 winning the National title in the 100 and 200m Freestyle. It felt great coming back to the same venue after 8 years to swim another National in a different league and reclaiming the 100 and 200m Freestyle. I finished this meet with three individual gold medals – 100, 200 and 400m Freestyle – and one gold and one silver medal in the 4*50 Freestyle and Medley relays respectively.

This meet dwarfed ex-professional swimmers like me and highlighted the human triumphs in the sport that we often miss in the more competitive professional circuit. In many ways, the Masters Age-group meet is exactly the opposite when compared with the regular age group. I have listed a few:

• In the latter, the parents cheer and pamper their kids while in the former the kids, and a few grand kids, were seen cheering and pampering their parents and grandparents.
• In the latter the times get faster as we go up the age groups while in the former the times get slower.
• In the latter the priority is winning first and fun next while in the former it is fun first and winning next.

Mr. Krishnamurthy, the Nonagenarian (90yrs+) from Karnataka, was one of the stars who stood as a shining example that one is never be too old to compete. Taranath Shenoy, one of the legends of long distance swimming who is visually challenged and has been awarded the prestigious Padmashree, was another star who displayed his swimming prowess by creating multiple records. As a kid, I had heard a lot about Taranath Shenoy and it was my pleasure meeting him and having the honor of awarding him a medal for one of his events. Taranath was among a handful of physically challenged swimmers who participated shoulder to shoulder with the able bodied and showed that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Overall it was fantastic experience and I look forward to the next Masters Nationals. For those who swam faster than the FINA World Masters qualifying time, and can afford to fund their own trip, the next stop is the FINA World Masters at Perth (Australia) in April this year (Check earlier blog post for the handbook on the World Masters).

Click here for the results of the individual events.