Page 28 - EW-December-1-31-2024-merged

Young Achievers

sprint event with a tim- woman in Asia to swim across five of
ing of 57.66 seconds. Next the Ocean Seven — a global 7-chan-
year in the 2023 Hangzhou nel challenge devised in 2008 — with
Asian Para Games, she won Tsugaru Channel (Japan) and the
a second gold with a new Strait of Gibraltar (Spain) next on
Asian Para Games record her to-swim list.
of 56.69 seconds. Earlier Well aware of the North Channel’s
o
this year (2024) at the Para average icy temperature of 13 C, Say-
Athletic World Champion- ani started her acclimatisation and
ships held in Kobe (Japan), fitness routines for this swimathon
she set a world record with two years ago, quitting her Bandhan
55.06 seconds to stand tall Bank, Kolkata job to prepare for the
on the winner’s podium. challenge.
The elder child of daily The younger of two daughters of
wage earners Dhanalak- Radheshyam Das, a retired govern-
shmi and Yadagiri, Deepthi ment school headmaster and swim-
DEEPTHI JEEVANJI attributes her success to a support- ming coach, and homemaker Rupali
ive community. “Credit goes to my
Das, Sayani accredits her successes
parents who sold their farmland to to her encouraging parents and a
arangal (Telangana)- support me, my coach and sponsors rigorous training regimen. “Swim
based para-athlete — the Gopichand-Mytrah Founda- marathons are expensive. I am very
WDeepthi Jeevanji (21) tion. I am also indebted to the state grateful to my parents, friends,
won a bronze medal in the 400m government for awarding me a cash schoolteachers, and well-wishers in
T20 (classification for athletes with prize of Rs.1 crore and a Group II Kalna and Kolkata who raised Rs.6.5
intellectual disabilities) sprint event government job,” says Deepthi, who lakh towards my training and other
of the Paralympics Games 2024 recently graduated from Samatha expenses,” says Sayani, a history
staged in Paris between August College, Mahbubabad with a com- graduate of Netaji Subhas Open
28-September 8. Introduced in merce degree. University with a Masters in anthro-
1976, Paralympic Games is an inter- “I intend to practice harder and pology awarded by Indira Gandhi
national multi-sports event mod- improve my timing to win a gold for National Open University.
elled on the Olympics, featuring India in the 2028 Paralympic Games Although somewhat dismayed by
athletes with physical and mental in Los Angeles,” she says. the indifference of corporate spon-
disabilities. Go for gold, Sis! sors and state/Central governments
Born with physical disadvantages to her record breaking swimathons,
and language and speech difficul- Somasekhar Mulugu (Hyderabad) Sayani has nevertheless chalked up
ties, in her childhood Deepthi was ambitious plans. “By 2026, I intend
subjected to ridicule and discrimi- to complete the Ocean Seven global
nation by relatives, neighbours SAYANI DAS challenge and fulfill my dream of
and school mates. However, with being inducted into the Interna-
encouragement from her physical alna (West Bengal)-based tional Marathon Swimming Hall
training teacher Biyani Venkateswa- Sayani Das (26) is the first of Fame, Florida (USA). Following
rulu of the RDF (Rural Develop- KAsian woman to swim the that, I plan to sign up for a doctorate
ment Foundation) School, Kalleda 34.5-km North Channel, a strait programme in anthropology and also
(Telangana) — ranked among the between Northern Ireland and Scot- start coaching promising open-water
Super 40 Private Budget Schools land. Notwithstanding freezing cold swimmers from rural Bengal,” she
in the EW India School Rankings conditions, strong currents and gusty says.
2024-25 — she doggedly pursued winds, on August 30 Sayani swam An inspiring mermaid, indeed!
athletics. the channel braving box jellyfish and
Her turning point came in 2019 assorted marine species, in 13 Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)
at the National Athletics Champi- hours 22 minutes 38 seconds.
onship in Khammam (Telangana). This is the latest of this
Although she won the 400m race, Bengal mermaid’s astounding
she was disqualified because she mind over body feats. In April
ran barefoot and switched lanes 2022, Sayani successfully swam
out of ignorance. But Dronacharya the Molokai Channel between
awardee N. Ramesh and athletics the islands of O’ahu and Molo-
coach of SAI (Sports Authority of kai in Hawaii, USA. Previous
India) Hyderabad, recognised her records include traversing the
potential and took her under his Catalina Channel (2019), Cook
wing. Strait (2018) and the English
In 2022, she bagged her first gold Channel (2017). With her latest
in the World Para Athletics Grand triumph, Sayani has crossed
Prix, Morocco in the 400m T20 the milestone of being the first

28 EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2024