When every single Mumbaikar was looking for a shelter amidst torrential downpour on Saturday, 12-year-old swimmer Kanchi Desai took a plunge into the Juhu Vile-Parle Gymkhana pool.
When every single Mumbaikar was looking for a shelter amidst torrential downpour on Saturday, 12-year-old swimmer Kanchi Desai took a plunge into the Juhu Vile-Parle Gymkhana pool to prepare for the sixth Asian age-group championship to be held in Tokyo. She is the lone face from Mumbai in the 26-member Indian contingent.
Kanchi’s dream of representing the country in an international meet came true when she sealed a berth in the Indian side after bagging six medals including a national record in the junior national championship that concluded in Jaipur recently. The eighth standard student also bettered the qualifying mark for the Tokyo meet by almost a second.
To become a national champion after being put into water to overcome the fears is quite an achievement.
With little success in the initial years, Kanchi made her presence felt in the sub-juniors and then at the junior nationals. “Winning six medals (three golds, 1 silver and two bronzes) at nationals is no mean feat and bettering the qualifying time for Asian championship was like an icing on the cake,” said coach Gokul Kamat.
Kanchi won gold in 400 metres freestyle where she clocked a second better than the qualifying mark of 4 minutes 44 seconds to book a ticket for the Asian meet. She won golds in 200 metres individual medley, 800 metres freestyle, a silver in 200 metres freestyle and bronzes in 4x100 and 4x200 relay events at the junior nationals in Jaipur in the last week of June.
Kanchi’s appetite for winning medals was proved at a district level meet in April. She won golds in all the five events she participated at the Greater Mumbai Amateur Aquatic Association’s district-level age-group meet. Father Anand, though, was modest to admit that Kanchi’s feat has come earlier than expected.
“To be honest I thought she has achieved her target six months earlier than we anticipated, that’s good and I am proud of it,” said Anand, whose elder daughter Gauri, a year older to Kanchi, is also a national record holder in junior category. For now, Kanchi is heading to Pune for a month-long camp before leaving for Tokyo on August 6. The five-day Asian meet commences on August 9.
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