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Dhinidhi Desinghu: Meet India’s 14-Year-Old Olympic Swimmer at Paris 2024

Olympic Swimmer at Paris 2024
Image Credit: Timeline Daily
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Indian history to be created at Paris 2024 Olympics as a 14-year-old swimmer girl Dhinidhi Desinghu will compete in women’s 200m freestyle.

Speaking of tales to tell — this particular one has rewritten the history books too, as Dhinidhi became the youngest-ever Indian Olympian at the Paris Games.

An exceptional rise of a teenage swimmer from Bengaluru.

“I didn’t like the water. I didn’t want to get in. My toes refused to enter, but my head wouldn’t dive,” she recalled.

Dhinidhi has been to hell and back on her way to the Olympics, despite only being 18-years-old.

During a recent interview, the swimmer touched base with her fans to share how unendurable swimming has been when she embarked on it first and battled with fears all throughout until she went on to become a national level competitor.

As she gears up for her Olympic debut, Dhinidhi opens up on her incredible journey and the struggles she faced being a young athlete.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dhinidhi Desinghu is the youngest Indian Olympian at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
  • She overcame a fear of water to become a national record-holder in swimming.
  • Supported by her family, especially her mother, she battled competition anxiety.
  • Dhinidhi’s rise through the ranks promises a bright future in Indian swimming.

Related articles: National Aquatic Championships 2024: Hashika Ramachandra Shatters 13-Year-Old Record on Opening Day


Conquering Fear: A Trip To The Pool

Dhinidhi Desinghu

Image Credit: Indian Express

“I only knew the strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly – but that was about it. I was scared to ask for help,” she confessed.

What twisted the path to turning an Olympic pool into a field first was that she did not enjoy the water.

The teenager told Indian Express that she had been so afraid of water that she was even scared to get into the pool as a child.

“I didn’t like the water. I didn’t want to get in. My toes, they refused to enter, but my head, it would not dive.” She remembered being terrified at the age of six. “It was a struggle.”

But her parents were bent on needing to get her out of this fear. To make their daughter attend, they took swimming lessons themselves.

“Well, actually, my parents did before I learned how to swim,” Dhinidhi smiles and shares.

“They got into the pool to make me feel comfortable, and that is how it all started.” But they kept at it and their encouragement helped her develop the gift that turned into swimming, even when it seemed like there was never going to be a future in the sport for her.

At 7, Dhinidhi was back at the pool, intimidated but open to signing up again.

A year later, she became a member of Dolphin Aquatics in Bengaluru, where she put the competitive swimmer cap on for the first time.

She ended up showing promise right away, though despite her nervousness — and failure to even know the names of some easy-to-perform swimming moves.

“I only knew the strokes — backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly — but that was about it. I was scared to ask for help. I did not know what to do,” she confessed. After a while, Dhinidhi started practicing and building her confidence.


Mother’s rally and background turning point Support in Competition 

A key figure who helped Dhinidhi tackle her competition anxiety was her mother, Jesitha. One of the turning points was when Jesitha remembered her energetic eight-year-old daughter Dhinidhi.

She was more than proficient in the pool but struggled at competition. “Either she would be running a fever the night before or vomiting.”

One event, in particular, would be especially rough on Dhinidhi. Even though Jesitha had been ill from motion sickness and throwing up on the bus journey to the event, she told her daughter, “Come out just to see the pool.

” I said, “We made it this far, let’s just go check out the pool; if you don’t want to swim, we can come back.” She stood up, walked around the pool then turned to say to me, Shakespeare style:

“Methinks I am able!” The day she won gold,” Jesitha cheerfully remembered. Dhinidhi never had pre-competition nerves again after that.

The win altered the competitive mindset for Dhinidhi, and she never looked back. Amidst hard work and passion, she stands today with a national record in the Women’s 200m freestyle.

After winning a national title and the Olympics Dhinidhi Eschan is moving right on up. At a young age, she already made a name for herself on the national scene; breaking records and swimming against competitors several years her senior.

Besides securing success on the national level, she also happened to mark her debut on an international scale by receiving a call-up for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games against some of Asia’s fiercest swimmers.

She earned a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics via the universality quota, where countries can enter athletes who have not met the Olympic qualifying time, but have qualified by meeting a certain effort-level benchmark.

It is an opportunity that says all about what kind of a player Dhinidhi can become and the belief that Indian sports authorities have in her.

She credits her family immensely for her success and also her coaches at Dolphin Aquatics. But she will be up there competing against the best at the biggest stage in world sport, supported by a strong team that is backing her to succeed.


A Glimpse into Tomorrow 

While Dhinidhi Desinghu readies for the 2024 Olympics in Paris with a nation of expectation riding on her young shoulders, hers is a tale of fear of water as a six-year-old to being the youngest Indian Olympian, changing in front of her family and staying away from home for four years.

Dhinidhi has already etched her name in the history books, and it is evident that she has much to look forward to as a promising prospect in swimming.

So, along with the skill, discipline, and experience that she gains at the Olympics, Dhinidhi is all set to break more records and conquer new heights in swimming.

FAQ:

Q: How old is Dhinidhi Desinghu?
A: Dhinidhi is 14 years old and will be the youngest Indian Olympian at Paris 2024.

Q: What event is she competing in?
A: She is competing in the women’s 200m freestyle.

Q: How did she qualify for the Olympics?
A: Dhinidhi qualified through the universality quota, which allows athletes who have not met the qualifying times but have shown exceptional effort and potential.

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References:

IndianExpress.com

NDTVsports.com

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