Prodigy breaks record on debut

At 15, this Class X student of St Xavier8217;s High School, Kolhapur is just another kid. But talk to Veerdhaval Khade, and this perception takes an about turn in no time.

At 15, this Class X student of St Xavier8217;s High School, Kolhapur is just another kid. But talk to Veerdhaval Khade, and this perception takes an about turn in no time.

8220;I have my eyes set on the World Championships at Melbourne in March, which also happens to be the Olympic qualifying round, so I am just checking out how good I am,8221; says Khade after his record-breaking effort on his debut in Guwahati today.

At the Zakir Hussain Aquatics Complex, Kahde broke the 10-year-old 200m freestyle record set set by J Abhijit of Karnataka in 1997, to bag his first National Games gold. Khade bettered the previous record by 4:50 seconds, with a timing of 1:54:18 seconds. Abhijit had clocked 1:58:68 seconds. Khade went on to bag another gold in the 100m butterfly event, though this time he missed the record by a whisker. Akbar Ali Mir of Bengal hold the 100m butterfly record with a timing of 57:38 seconds. Khade clocked 57:99 seconds. 8220;But I will chase all the records,8221; says Khade, as if he was trying to prove a point.

The Maharashtra swimmer has entered in seven disciplines at the Games 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle; 50 and 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley. Going by the looks of it, all those records appear to be in danger.

Khade has what it takes to be a good swimmer. He is tall 6ft 2inch and built to perfection for the swimming pool at 60 kg. Moreover he is a hard worker and has a hunger to succeed. The way he steered the Maharashtra team to third place from sixth in the 4x100m freestyle relay speaks volumes of his abilities.

But don8217;t be misled by his age. Khade is a young veteran in swimming and his records are a testimony. He has so far won six international gold medals , three silver and two bronze in various competitions. His golds came in Asian Age Group championships at Bangkok in 2005, the Asian Swimming Championships at Singapore in 2006 and the SAF Games at Colombo also in 2006. Khade also drew a lot of attention in the Doha Asian Games though he didn8217;t win any medal there.

Inspite of those international exposures and medals, Khade regards the latest medal as his biggest achievement so far. Why? 8220;I came with a reason here and seeing the first day8217;s performance it looks to be on track,8221; added Khade who practices at the KC Reddy Swimming Centre at Bangalore under the guidance of Nihar Amin.

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But how does he manage? He said he studies in Kolhapur in Maharashtra didn8217;t he? Khade just laughed and replied: 8220;Oh! I just go there for the exams but I stay in Bangalore most of the time. I want to be the best swimmer.8221; He swam like one today. It may not be long before he becomes one.