HYDERABAD: Hear Aditi Dhumatkar, India’s fastest swimmer share her tryst with water.
I was three when my sister Gayatri introduced me to a swimming pool for the first time. The fear of water was obvious. On one hand, I would love that contact with water, and on the other hand my heart would nervously beat faster. What if I drown? What if I don’t get it right? What if the deeper side of the pool catches me unprepared?
Every time I questioned my ability, the fear would only surmount stronger. And then came a day, when I decided to take small steps towards fear itself and face it head on! It’s been a long journey since then, and here I am, currently recognized as India’s fastest swimmer. Today most people know me as someone who is fast and fearless in water.‘She simply loves what she does’ they remark. Having represented India internationally, I can share from my experience that our biggest enemy is none other than FEAR itself.
I embarked on my competitive swimming journey at the age of six. IT was my first ever competition at the Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai and I stood second. In 2005 when I was 13, came the momentous occasion to witness a record breaking victory at the Kolkata Nationals and set a new record of 19 minutes and 17.89 seconds in the 1500meters freestyle. At 14, I bagged nine golds at the 24th Otters Club Open 2006. It was an unforgettable moment to be felicitated by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra on the International Women’s Day. In 2013, at the Senior Nationals swimming held at Trivandrum, I won three golds, two silver and two bronze medals. That contributed to making the state of Maharashtra, the winner of Women’s team title.
While I’m more of a sprinter now, in my early days, I was good at long distance swimming and 200 butterfly. My coach made me push harder. I did not know then, that every single stroke of hard work we were putting in would one day make bring my way a historic win in the arduous long distance competitive swimming too. It was in February 2014 when an opportunity came to swim 5000 meters freestyle at the 8th Swim Marathon and beat my own record of 1:01:21.00 hours. This time I finished the event in 59:52:00 minutes, in the same year in November, I won the sprint double of 50 and 100 freestyle at Senior National Aquatic Championship in Kolkata, setting a national record, and that is what helped me be recognised as the fastest swimmer of the country.
Achievement’s one and only enemy is fear. My life changed from the day I freed myself from the fear of water. To every young swimmer and sports lover, I would say - Start small, give your best and gradually fear itself will start fearing your persistence. That’s the best lesson I got from my coach and it motivates me to push harder and do better every single time am in water. With every medal I win, I set myself a new milestone and accomplishing it offers a sense of achievement that is priceless!
I also feel fortunate to have had the support of my parents, my coach, the swimming clubs I represented and also brands like Speedo. This external ecosystem along with the inner strength to face fear is what makes people regard me as. - Aditi Dhumatkar, that Indian swimmer who is fast, fearless and loves what she does.
-Aditi Dhumatkar is part of Team Speedo