India is taking a strong and experienced 117-member contingent to the Paris Olympics 2024, with its youngest athlete just 14 years old.
India’s teenage swimming star, Dhinidhi Desinghu, will compete in the women’s 200m freestyle event at the Olympics in Paris. Qualifying for the event on a universality quota, she will be one of the youngest participants in the tournament.
Having a swimming pool near her home helped Dhinidhi develop an interest in the sport from the tender age of six. However, her passion for swimming wasn’t always strong, as she initially feared the water.
Dhinidhi’s parents gave her the extra push to pursue the sport by learning to swim themselves to alleviate their daughter’s fear.
“I didn’t like the water, I didn’t want to get in. I couldn’t get my feet into the pool, I couldn’t get my head inside. It was a struggle. I was six back then. When I returned the next year, I was still too scared,” Dhinidhi said in an interview. “In fact, before I learnt how to swim, my parents did so. They got into the pool to make me feel comfortable, and that is how it all started,” she added.
Overcoming Performance Pressure
Her mother also recalled how Dhinidhi used to get sick the night before a tournament or vomit after reaching the pool, and how she helped her overcome that fear.
“I knew she had the talent. She does very well in the pool. But then at competitions, she felt the pressure. Either she would fall sick the previous day with a fever or she would vomit when she got to the pool for the event,” Dhinidhi’s mother said.
“I just decided to book a bus ticket. I too have motion sickness and we were continuously vomiting throughout. After reaching there, Dhinidhi said, ‘No, I am scared. I don’t want to swim.’ But we had suffered so much to get there, so I said we’ll just go to see the pool and then return if she was not up for it. She walked around the pool, turned to me and said, ‘I think I can do it.’ She came up with the gold. That’s it. Thereafter, she never had any fever or vomiting before a competition,” she further added.
Dhinidhi also holds the current national record in the 200m freestyle category. Having been a part of the Huangzhou Asian Games in 2022, Dhinidhi is prepared for the big showdown and plans to utilise this exposure for the years to come.
First Published: Jul 27 2024 | 7:01 PM IS