Swimming Against the Tide

Chahat Arora, 21, Swimming, Chandigarh

BABY STEPS Arora first entered the pool at the age of four and has been addicted to it ever since. “I was a fast learner, from the very beginning, I took to water like a fish.”

ACCOLADES GALORE The only person from Chandigarh to ever win a gold in swimming at the national level, this young woman, who idolises British competitive swimmer Adam Peaty, recently won two gold medals in the 50 and 100m breaststroke category at the All India Inter University Swimming Championship held in Bangalore in November 2018. She also won gold in the 50 metres and 100 metres breaststroke and holds a national record in 100 metres breaststroke with a time of 1:15.19 (at the Senior National Aquatic Championship held in Bhopal in 2017). AVOIDABLE UNDERCURRENTS Lamenting the lack of even basic infrastructure like all-weather pools (which work) and state-of-the-art coaching in the region, Arora says, “We get our scholarship money after three years. I would not have survived without my parents' support.”

SLOW WATERS Ask her about the dismal performance of Indian swimmers in almost every major international competitions and she says, “We don't stand anywhere. How are we expected to take on the world when we don't have an access to top-class coaches, dieticians, fitness trainers, and sports psychologists in our country?"

LOOKING AHEAD “Right now,

I am focused on improving my timing ahead of the National Games scheduled for next year,” she says.

“How are we expected to take on the world when we don't have an access to topclass coaches, dieticians, fitness trainers, and sports psychologists?” Chahat Arora, Swimmer