davidgail
48 posts
May 06, 2026
3:06 AM
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I've been thinking about this a lot lately — why does swimming get so little attention in India compared to cricket? Because honestly, indian swimmers have achieved some genuinely remarkable things and most people have no idea.
Take Arati Saha. She crossed the English Channel in 1959 — the first Asian woman to ever do it. That's a historic achievement by any global standard. Or consider Bhakti Sharma, who swam 2.3 km in Antarctic waters at just 1°C, breaking records held by athletes from the US and Great Britain. These aren't small accomplishments.
Then there's the modern generation. Virdhawal Khade competed at the Beijing Olympics. Sajan Prakash — literally called the "Michael Phelps of India" — represented us at Rio 2016. Shikha Tandon qualified for two separate Olympic events. These indian swimmers earned their spots through sheer talent and relentless hard work.
What frustrates me is that most of these athletes trained without the infrastructure, funding, or media spotlight that swimmers in the US, Australia, or Europe enjoy. Yet they still showed up, broke national records, and made the country proud.
I genuinely believe that if Indian swimming received even 10% of cricket's sponsorship money, we'd see indian swimmers on Olympic podiums within a decade.
Does anyone follow competitive swimming here? Would love to discuss which athletes you think have the most potential going forward.
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