BENGALURU: A day after turning 10, Bengaluru-based Ovee Malve set a world record of becoming the youngest certified scuba diver.
With this, both Ovee and her sister Ruchi, daughters of Bangalore Mountaineering Club founder Neeraj Malve, have become the youngest certified scuba diver siblings in the world. Neeraj himself has been a scuba diver for 16 years now. Ovee achieved the feat in Puducherry at 7.18 am on October 11, becoming the youngest Professional Association of Diving Instructors-certified open water diver.
Elated and proud, Neeraj said he understands that adventure sports are not easy, especially at a young age. He never pressured his children and ensured that they underwent proper training. The daughters were water babies since they were little and were fascinated with his scuba diving videos. Their interest in scuba diving stemmed from those videos and they started swimming and later training for scuba diving, he said.
Ovee enrolled for a junior open water diver course at Temple Adventures, Puducherry and trained under coach Shreya Mehta. Her sister Ruchi (14) trained under Shaurya Tarni of Dive Goa in Goa. Ruchi enrolled for the Junior Open Water Diver certification course on October 27, 2022 and received the Scuba Schools International certificate on October 30, 2022. At the age of 10 and 13, both Malve sisters have become the world’s youngest scuba diver sisters.
Previously, a Mumbai-based boy, Dwit Nandu, at age 10 set the world record around 8 am on August 25, 2023.
Both the sisters underwent two-day rigorous training which included a 200-metre nonstop swimming and floating for 10 minutes without any support. They studied five chapters of theory about performing underwater skills in confined waters, passed a written exam and successfully performed four dives in open water up to 18-metre depth to earn their open water diver certification. They are authorised to perform scuba diving anywhere in the world now.
Ruchi aspires to work on marine conservation, highlighting how underwater debris is harmful and is spoiling marine life. Ovee wishes to join her father’s venture to become an instructor and dive across the world.