Maharashtra’s and India’s finest swimmer Virdhawal Khade is back in the circuit after around 4-5 years and is keen on winning medals in the upcoming tournaments. Virdhawal, who was the youngest ever Indian swimmer to qualify for the Olympics in 2008, has been working as a tahsildar at the Collector’s Office in Sindhudurg, a small district near Kolhapur where there are no facilities for him to train. This once again leads us to the question of why Indian athletes do not win medals on the international stage.
The 26-year old swimmer from Kolhapur got the job in 2012 under sports quota. Ironically, despite beiing posted in Mumbai for the first three years, he could not find time to practice the sport.
“The Centre and state elections were about to begin, because of which I did not get the time and I could not make it to the Olympics and Commonwealth Qualifiers,” says a disappointed Virdhawal, who had won a Bronze Medal in the Asian Games in 2010 held in Guangzhou, China.
Virdhawal is currently competing at the 71st Glenmark Senior National Aquatic Championship, which he says is his first major tournament in years.
He reveals that there was a time when he had not been in the pool for two-odd years — a stunning admission from someone who has been honoured with an Arjuna Award for swimming.
“As I mentioned (during) the time of elections earlier, that was when I was stressed out about work and I could not give time to swimming. Other athletes who are working under the sports quota have superiors who understand the issues. Unfortunately, for me, it’s not the same,” he says.
Virdhawal was once called the fastest man of Indian swimming but right now he is struggling to find his rhythm.
The former national champion is taking part in local- and state-level tournaments to regain his form. “Although I had won the first race on Sunday, I was not impressed by own timing,” he says after winning a gold for his team in the 50m freestyle in 23.18 seconds.
While speaking about his career as a swimmer, Virdhawal credits his family for his growth as an athlete. He started at the age of six and now it has been 21 years that he has been in the sport.
“My father always wanted me to pursue a sport and he encouraged me to take up swimming. They (his family) have always been supportive, even in the hardest times,” recalls Virdhawal.
“There are times when I struggle financially and I need some money to train, my father has never said a thing when it boils down to it,” he further adds.
The swimmer has made several appeals to the ministry to transfer him back to Mumbai but they have all fallen on deaf years. Virdhawal is aging and he wants to add a few more medals to his tally before he calls it quits. The Kolhapur-lad is practising now so that he can compete at the Commonwealth Games and the all-important Olympics in the coming couple of years.
