CHENNAI: Earlier this month, at the Senior National Aquatic Championship in Hyderabad, Nina Venkatesh medalled in five events. In two of those, she broke the national record. Days after this achievement, she became part of India's squad for the Asian Games in China, the largest contingent ever from India.
"The team is almost double what was participating in 2018," Monal Chokshi, general secretary of the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) said after the squad announcement. Eleven swimmers were there at that time. We have 21 swimmers and out of that also, we have nine girls, which is also our first since 2006. We are delighted that all the swimmers are progressing and they achieved the qualification benchmark."
Nina is one of the nine female swimmers. "It was something I was looking forward to," Nina said, speaking about breaking the 50m butterfly record at the Nationals."I got the best Indian performance in that event. It was a goal for the past few years. For the longest time, that record was at 28 seconds. I'm also the first woman in India to ever do it in 27 seconds," a jubilant 17-year-old told this daily.
Even after reaching the milestone, she couldn't celebrate her win because that event was on the first day of the meet, and she had more to concentrate on. "I couldn't celebrate that much after 50m butterfly. I had to keep going because I had three more days left. But once I broke the 100m butterfly record, I was ecstatic. I called my parents and sister to celebrate with them."
With her performance in the Nationals, where she represented Karnataka, Nina booked her tickets for the Asian Games. "Honestly, being part of the Asian Games was just a dream, nothing but a dream. And it would have been an idea in my head before I got to know about my selection. This is the biggest thing that has ever happened in my career. And I cannot wait to represent India," she added.
In Bengaluru, Nina has been coaching under the Dronacharya Award winner coach, Nihar Ameen, since 2011. "He is a great coach. He has been coaching me for 12 years now. I have never practised in any other pool. He has seen me grow up in the Dolphin Academy and a lot of credit goes to him," Nina paid tribute to her coach.
At just 17, Nina has already made it to the Asian Games as one of the youngest squad members. When asked if she ever misses out on all the fun people her age are having, Nina is not hesitant in her answer. "I'm missing out on so many normal experiences, but my experiences are not normal at all. I'm grateful for the opportunities. I am also aware that one can't have everything in life," she said.
With the biggest-ever swimming contingent at the Asian Games in China, there are more opportunities for India to bring medals back home. And don't be surprised if the 17-year-old is one of them.
