It is probably in the order of things that the old gives way to the new. Nostalgia however does set in when you realise that a lot of which existed the last 50 years won't be around anymore.
Nostalgia apart it was a great day for swimming at the DI when, at the Annual Aquatics 2019, records dating back close to 50 years were erased by our young swimmers. Several of the parents present at the aquatics were probably not even born when Nafisa Ali set her record of 18 seconds in the Under 12 girls' one-length back stroke in the year 1971. This record was broken by Shaon Ghosh with an incredible timing of 17.78 seconds! Shaon set a total of five records this Sunday - breaking the under 12 girls records in all four strokes! She also broken the Under 15 girls record in the Butterfly stroke! This was an incredibly mind blowing performance by an individual swimmer. Many, many congratulations to Shaon Ghosh for this stupendous achievement.
[Shaon Ghosh, our champion record breaker]
It was a day when records were tumbling like skittles. Along with Shaon we had a host of other swimmers who erased years-old records and also their own records set in the recent years.
Prithviraj Kapani, Liam Shaw, Rayd Firoz, Ali Asgar Lokhandwala, Nate Shaw and Shaunak Lakhotia were the other heroes of the day with their powerful swimming. A lot of hard work and some great support from the Club with the advanced coaching camp have helped our swimmers to excel year after year.
The Aquatics 2019 saw a large spectator turn out. Members were seen trooping in from 3:00 pm for a 4:00 pm start. The excitement could be felt around the decked up swimming pool. One of the most awaited sports events did live up to its reputation with such skillful swimming on display. Loud cheering and some excited parents who nearly fell into the pool made for a great entertaining evening. Every event was closely contested and there was never a dull moment.
Fun events like the Salvage and the Tube races gave everyone a breather from the intense competition on display. Camaderie between the contestants and cheering for each other was so heartening to see.
Another heartening development this year was the large number of entries we got in the under 10 and under 8 categories. The swimming camp that started last year for our junior swimmers is beginning to show early results. The record number of entries and the swimming on display holds a lot of promise.
Gary O'Brien in his inimitable style and wit kept everyone in splits. Without Gary’s emceeing the Aquatics would feel incomplete. Thank you Gary.
A word of thanks to our President and the Council for all their support without which none of this would be possible.
The swimming committee of Zeenat Lokhandwala, our MIC, Paarth Sabharwal, Rohit Sanyal and Tanvi Bhimani has worked really hard to successfully put together this event. Thank you so much.
And last but not least we must thank the large number of members who not only turned out to watch but also helped us right through the week leading up to the Aquatics.
Until next year when we hope to see more incredible swimming and more records tumble ...
Picture credits: Tejas Doshi, Prosenjit Ghosh, Soeb Lokhandwala
[Samir Doshi, the writer, is also the Council Member in Charge of Sports]
