Swimming against the tide

Khade,who made the cut for London,says funding freeze has affected his training schedule.

Its like Kryptonite flung devilishly at Superman. They brandish history at him in the same fashion. Words laced with cynicism in response to what he has set out to achieve in India an unthinkable Olympics medal in swimming cause a gulping quiver in Virdhawal Khades pronounced Adams apple. Indias insignificance in world swimming,its infinitesimal presence on the starting blocks of the world stage and the sheer lack of champion tradition in this sport amongst the nations trumpeted billion all combine to present a bleak picture from the past,as Khade attempts to swim against historys formidable tide in the Olympic Games in London next year.

Two years ago,he was told alongside the rest of the world that high-tech suits would be withdrawn; Superman would be denied his cape and Bruce Wayne his Batsuit,as swimmings super-speedy timings were reined in and an earthly eligibility criterion set. Like most of his fellow swimmers from across the world,Khade has fought off bouts of frustration in the last two seasons when timings simply refused to match those aided by polyurethane-based suits. It is a little frustrating because everyones gotten a little slower after the suits were withdrawn. But a few records were still broken,so its not all cynical out there. Our coach says we need to work hard to match the suit-times,and thats the best way to approach it, he says.

Forsaking the suits has cost Khade 0.2 seconds in the 50m freestyle,and a whole half a second in the 100m.

Swimming lies in the back of beyond of the countrys sporting consciousness. Despite his Asian Games bronze medal in the 50 fly last November,Khade knows his name will seldom be mentioned as India starts talking Olympic-medal prospects with a year left.

All that people here know about is winning and losing, the Kolhapur-born,Bangalore-based swimmer says. But I keep telling myself we are only one or two of 1.3 billion Indians who will go to the Olympics. So theres some pride in that. Of course,thinking of an Olympic medal in swimming seems daunting,but I will get there one day.

Returning from Shanghai,where he clinched his qualification in the 100m freestyle,Khade admits that his performance was sub-par. Frankly I expected much better,and the timings werent great slower than my best times. But Id fallen sick with a throat infection and things clearly didnt go to plan, he says.

In the coming days,the strapping tyro is targetting 48 seconds close to 2 seconds less than his current best for the 100m freestyle,and 22-early 0.3s faster in the 50m,even though Khade admits that focussing on the 100m and 200m makes more sense. My targets are do-able. Also when I say I want to eventually reach the top 10 of the world,I dont think Im talking the impossible. Its a mixed feeling to see guys my age win the silver and gold at the Worlds. Its both inspiring and challenging to try reaching that level.

Funds crunch

Story continues below this ad

The banning of the suits didnt hurt as much as the complete halting of government funding after the Asian Games. After the Asiad,there was no funding at all,but now that weve qualified,we believe we will receive help. We need more support, he stresses. Topping the list is a travelling physio an urgent requirement that is conspicuously absent. Besides a physio,we sometimes need to go consult an orthopaedist or even a bio-mechanist to fine-tune strokes. We need these on-demand at all times. Thats besides international exposure, he says.

London is four years and many levels of expectation away from Beijing 08,where Khade had qualified as a precocious 16-year-old. Last time the Olympics was a big deal,because it was my first. But now,I definitely want to do more than just qualify. At least make the semis if not more,but I know that success in a difficult discipline like swimming wont come easy,so realistically we should look at 2016, he says.

Khades Chinese sojourns have been a mixed bag Beijing Olympics timings failed to impress,while Shanghai,where the next Olympics berth was secured,wasnt satisfactory either. He has better memories of Guangzhou,of course. Medalling was great in the Asian Games a morale-booster. It gave me the confidence that I belong. Whenever things are not going my way,I look back on the Asian Games and I know I can do it again,at the biggest stage, he says.

Back in Bangalore,down time is spent watching Sachin Tendulkar on TV and following pre-season snippets of Manchester United. Anything but thoughts of swimming and the pool. The Asian age-groups in October will be followed by the more brain-wracking second year B Com exams,though a stop-over in Delhi to pick up the Arjuna Award promises to help him walk a few feet above the ground for a few seconds. The Arjuna award is an honour at a young age,but I knew I deserved it. My dad called up when I was in Shanghai,but with a year to go for the Olympics,Ill defer the celebrations till the end of London, he says.