BENGALURU: She’s just 11, but Bengaluru girl Dhinidhi Desinghu has a clear vision of her goals. Working towards becoming a ‘top swimmer and feature in the Olympics’, Dhinidhi is pushing herself hard to realise her dreams. If her achievements are anything to go by, she, for a start, is on the right track. In the ongoing 37th sub junior and 47th junior National Aquatic Championship here, she created two new national records in the 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle, both in group III girls. She was the best swimmer in her age group at the state-level competition last month too.
However, success did not come overnight. Dhinidhi started competing as an eight-year-old and gradually improved. Initially, she trained at the Golden Swims and joined Dolphin Aquatics, Kensington in 2019. Pre-pandemic, she would wake up at 4:30 am every day and leave home by 5am with her mother in tow to reach the training centre. Post training, she rushed to school, Kendriya Vidyalaya DRDO, CV Raman Nagar, for classes, after which she would once again return to the pool for her evening training sessions.
When Covid broke out in 2020, her training took a hit with pools shut for almost eight months. When they reopened, Dhinidhi had to start afresh, having to train extra hard to prepare for the nationals. “For the last one month or so, the schedule has been tight. The practice for the nationals was intense. Dhinidhi had to skip a couple of online classes, but teachers have been supportive. In the last few months, my husband has been accompanying her for training,” says Jesitha V, Dhinidhi’s mother.
In the 200m freestyle, she clocked 2:24:94 to break a 11-year national record of 2:17.52 held by Monique Gandhi of Maharashtra. On Thursday, she broke Vania Kapoor’s record of 2:37.99 set in 2013 in the 200m individual medley, with a timing of 2:33.36. This is a big achievement considering the long training break owing to Covid. “It was not easy to get back to shape and train again. It took a lot of time to get back to competitive swimming. I am very happy with my records in the nationals. My hard work has paid off,” says a content Dhinidhi.
Dronacharya awardee and Dolphins Aquatics program Director Nihar Ameen is keeping a close tab on her progress and considers Dhinidhi to be a bright sportsperson. According to her coach Madhu Kumar, it’s taken two years to work on her technique. “When she joined us, her technique was not what it should have been. So, we focused on correcting it. She is super talented and dedicated. It is very difficult to get kids of her age to be focused, but she trains very hard,” he says.