India’s top two swimmers want to set the record straight at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth Games have always been a happy hunting ground for athletes in most disciplines. Except for swimming. In the last few Games, no swimmer from India has managed to win a single medal. But this time, 21-year-old Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade, 18, are determined to win a medal or two to rewrite the record books.
Having represented the country at the Beijing Olympics, both these swimmers are confident of putting up a good show in front of their home crowd. A Delhi boy, Sejwal, who has been training in Europe, is especially keen to do well. A graduate of St. Stephen’s college, Sejwal says that it was never his intention to be a professional swimmer.
“But people thought I was good, and I loved swimming, so the decision to turn professional was the next inevitable step,” he says.
Khade, on the other hand, was a childhood prodigy. At 15, he was the fastest swimmer in the world in his age category. And since then he has broken many records at the national level in the 50m, 100m and 200m categories. The teenager from Kolhapur trains at the KC Reddy Centre in Bangalore under coach Nihar Ameen (who coaches Sejwal as well) and has been lauded by many as a swimmer ahead of his time.
Both Sejwal and Khade share a good camaraderie and a healthy professional rivalry. “Vir is an exceptionally talented boy,” says Sejwal while Khade says that training with Sejwal always pushes him to do better. For now they have set their sights firmly on the Commonwealth Games. While they will be training abroad to get that extra edge, they don’t intend to change their training regimen. Both train for about eight to ten hours a day and credit coach Ameen for their development. “He has played a vital role in my career and never lets you rest on past laurels,” says Khade.
When he is not in the pool or working out in the gym, Sejwal says that he loves watching movies — mostly Hindi — and listening to hip hop music. Khade, on the other hand says “If I have free time, I’d rather catch up on sleep!” Both boys love Italian food and are foodies in general. “I try to eat healthy even though I know that I will burn the excess calories, but sometimes can’t resist temptation,” says the teenager from Kolhapur.
Training abroad is something which has helped both these swimmers immensely. “The kind of facilities available abroad helps in improving timing as well as other aspects,” says Sejwal. During the past year, both have trained in Spain, France and Germany. They are back from the South Asian Games and both of them plan to head to South Africa for another training stint before the Commonwealth Games.
Khade won six medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games last year in Pune and wants to replicate this success at the senior level as well. There will be expectations from people who have followed his career but he is not bothered about it. Similarly, Sejwal, who thanks his mother for keeping him focused in life, says that he wants to do well not only in the Commonwealth Games but the Asian Games in China due to be held in November.
With Sejwal and Khade leading India’s challenge at the Games, it might just be our best chance for a medal or two yet.
