Since 1948, Indian swimmers have
competed in the Olympics. 28 swimmers have earned the honour of representing
India at summer competitions, including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
There have been eight of them, seven of them women.
Indian Swimmers' Olympic participation has made their nation famous for swimming, but they haven't yet managed to establish a stable position on the sport's international stage.
When racing against the finest in the world, Indian swimmers frequently fall short, yet these talented sportsmen keep fighting.
At the 1952 Summer Olympics, India first sent female swimmers. In the previous seven years, Maana Patel has become the seventh female Indian swimmer. She became the first Indian athlete to qualify for the Olympics in seven decades and compete in Tokyo.
Let's now examine the seven female swimmers that competed for India at the Summer Games and Olympics.
Dolly Nazir
Women's 100-meter backstroke national record holder Dolly Nazir was the first female Indian swimmer to earn an Olympic spot. At the 1952 Summer Games, she took part in the women's 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter breaststroke events.
Dolly Nazir placed seventh in heat 2 of the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:24.60, but she was unable to advance to the semi-finals. She finished 32nd overall with a time of 3:37.90 seconds in the 200-meter breaststroke heats.
Arati Saha
Together with Dolly Nazir, Arati Saha was one of two female swimmers who represented India at the 1952 Olympics. In the heats of the women's 200-meter breaststroke, she placed 33rd with a time of 3:40.80 seconds. Arati was the youngest swimmer to represent India at the Olympics when she was 12 years old.
Sachin Nag, the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics in 1948 and a gold medalist at the Asian Games in 1951, was a mentor to Arati Saha. Arati entered the national spotlight after earning three medals at the 1948 National Championships: a bronze in the 200 m freestyle, two silvers in the 100 m freestyle, and a bronze in the 200 m breaststroke.
Sangeeta Puri
Since the 1952 Summer Olympics, Sangeeta Puri was the first Indian woman to compete in the sport. She participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics' Women's 50-meter freestyle competition.
With Sangeeta's participation in the Olympics, India sent their first female swimmer to the Summer Games in 44 years.
Sangeeta finished the heats in 48th place overall with a time of 28.02 seconds. Sangeeta Puri competed for Trinidad and Tobago at the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won gold and silver in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events, respectively. This was prior to the Olympics.
In the Commonwealth Games in 1994, Sangeeta Puri competed in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, and 100-meter butterfly events.
Nisha Millet
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Nisha Millet was the sole female Indian swimmer to represent her nation. She participated in the women's 200-meter freestyle event and finished the heats in 37th place overall with a time of 2:08.39 seconds.
Nisha Millet competed at the 1998 Asian Games and the 1999 World Championships before the 2000 Summer Games. When the National Games were held in 1999, she became the first Indian athlete to win 14 gold medals.
Nisha Millet ended her career as a competitive swimmer in 2004 after being disqualified from the Athens Olympics.
Shikha Tandon
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, only one Indian swimmer, Shikha Tandon, competed for her nation. She qualified for two events, making her the first and only Indian woman to do so. Shikha participated in the women's 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.
Shikha Tandon clocked a time of 27.08 seconds to place 40th in the 50-meter freestyle heats. With a time of 59.70 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle heats, she finished 46th overall.
At the 1998 Asian Games, Shikha Tandon made her debut on the world stage at the age of 13. She debuted in the 2001 World Championships at the age of 16. Shikha was the first Indian female swimmer to take home a short course medal at an international competition in 2006. She received a bronze medal at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships. Shikha Tandon currently holds the 50- and 100-meter freestyle women's national records.
Shivani Kataria
Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, Shivani Kataria was the first Indian woman to compete in swimming at the Olympics. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she took part in the women's 200-meter freestyle competition. Shivani finished 41st overall in the heats with a timing of 2:09.30 seconds, meaning she was unable to advance to the semi-finals.
Shivani Kataria won a gold medal at the South Asian Games in 2016, making her international debut.
Maana Patel
In Indian swimming history, Maana Patel is the sixth female swimmer to compete in the Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, she competed in the women's 100-meter backstroke. Maana Patel qualified for the Olympics using the universal quota.
At the 2016 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, Maana Patel won two gold medals, three silver medals, and a bronze medal. At the Asian Age Group Championships in Bangalore in 2019, she won six medals.
Women's 50-, 100-, and 200-meter backstroke national records are held by Maana Patel. Besides the swimmers who made to the Olympics, there are some other Indian women swimmers who need a special mention. They are as follows:
Bula Choudhury
Vandita Dhariyal
Nafisa Ali
Shyamala Gowda
Phyllis Haslam
Meenakshi Pahuja
Kanchanmala Pande
Rupali Repale
Bhakti Sharma
PoorvaShetye
Anita Sood
Preethi Srinivasan
Arushee Wahi
These Indian swimmers hold a special mention because each of them is best in their respective way and also achieved recognition for the same.
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