Jalaja Anil Shirole, a second year commerce student of SP College, is the centre of attraction in every tournament she participates in.
She is unfortunate not to have her mother beside her to see her medal-winning stints. But swimmer Jalaja Anil Shirole, a second year commerce student of SP College, is the centre of attraction in every tournament she participates in.
It was Jalaja’s mother Manisha who took her to a pool when she was just five-year-old and a year after she lost her mother, the swimmer made waves and stunned one and all with her performance.
It has only added to Jalaja’s determination that she comes from a humble financial background. Her father Anil owns an autorickshaw but never denied her anything she wanted.
There have been occasions when Jalaja overheard people talking about her father and that used to affect her. “I have heard people calling my father an autorickshaw driver and about how poor we were. When I was young it used to hurt but now I am proud of my father,” said Jalaja, who emerged as the best women’s swimmer in the inter-collegiate aquatic championship recently.
She was just five-year-old when she won her first gold medal. Since then, Jalaja has rewritten many records both in the district and state level championships, including the Sports Games Federation of India (SGFI) tournament.
“That was a prized medal and I was fortunate to have shared those moments with my mother,” said the ace swimmer from Pune.
Surprisingly, her idol is not a swimmer but Kiran Bedi. “She is a dynamic lady. I want to follow her footsteps not as an IPS officer, but in what I do,” said Jalaja.
Jalaja is a member of the national camp for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi. She is looking forward to the Jaipur senior nationals, the final selection trials before the team is selected for the big championship.
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