Bengaluru , KARNATAKA :

Karnataka’s swimmers’ success in the recently held Sub-Junior National Aquatic Championship at Bengaluru shouldn’t come as a surprise. Karnataka swimmers have been dominating the National events decade after decade now. Prior to the 2016 sub-junior and junior National meets in Bengaluru, Karnataka won the National Championship in the junior section for a record 24 years and it’s senior team has been a champion for 23 years! In 2015, Karnataka created the historic hat-trick by making a clean sweep of National titles in Sub-Junior, Junior and Senior ranks. The state has produced several Olympian swimmers such as, Nisha Millet, Shikha Tandon, H.S. Hakimuddin and Rehan Poncha . In terms of infrastructure, Karnataka ranks high on the National list and its no surprise that swimmers from other states make a bee-line here for for training.

What makes Karnataka a powerhouse in swimming? The credit goes to two award-winning coaches — S. Pradeep Kumar and Nihar Ameen. Between the two, they have trained hundreds of National and international swimmers who won laurels to the State and the country. The two veteran coaches speak to MetroPlus on the rise of Karnataka in aquatics and what made their swimmers tick.

Pradeep Kumar, who has been a National coach, says, “I will put that down to our club system. We have several swimming clubs, which have dedicated coaches and good training system in place.” “We also have 1,000 registered competitive swimmers and that’s where the talent keeps coming from. We also have a State Association (KSA) which is committed to support young talent’’ adds Pradeep.

But Pradeep feels that other states, especially Maharashtra, is catching up and there is a dip in the standard of Karnataka swimmers. “Of late, other state swimmers come and train here. This is a disadvantage for us. At my club, Basavangudi Aquatic Centre (BAC), I stopped taking outside swimmers five years ago,” opines the coach.

Pradeep also points out that the short span of swimmers’ career also is a setback. “Most junior swimmers get into professional courses after high school on sports quota. Once they do that, they stop competing and it affects our prospects. Instead of sports quota, it would be better if the State Government directs the Education Department to give grace marks for excellence in swimming,” he observes. Another challenge for the State swimmers is to find jobs. “There is a lack of career opportunity in the State for the swimmers and they often are lured away by other States and public sector units like railways,” says Pradeep.

Pradeep has a healthy rivalry with Nihar Ameen at State meets where their teams clash for the overall title. Nihar, who is the first swimming coach in the country to be honoured with the Dronacharya Award for excellence in coaching in 2015, holds strong views on the state of sport.

Nihar cites three major reasons for Karnataka’s dominance in swimming – “First, we have the best State swimming association in the country and under the president, Neelkant Rao Jagdale, KSA has grown from strength to strength putting in place a well-developed system to promote the sport. Secondly, thanks to conducive system, we have several clubs in this Bengaluru, Mysore and Mangalore, which have good training programmes. Thirdly, we have the best infrastructure and of late many pools have been privatised and are professionally managed now.” He also adds, “The sport is picking up in Dakshin Kannada, especially in Puttur.”

Nihar, however, admits that despite its supremacy, there has been a marked decline in the quality of performances. “There are fewer National records and the attrition rate among swimmers is on the rise. The scene was not the same 20 years ago. The present generation has other options and distractions and I don’t find the same level of commitment that we had in the past.”

Nihar disagrees with the view that training of swimmers from other states in Karnataka poses a challenge for the local talent. He, in fact, trains the Olympians, Virdhwal Khade of Maharashtra and Sandeep Sejwal of Delhi at his pool in Dolphin Swim Centre in Mathikere and adds, “I would say training with outside talent helps local swimmers to raise their standards.”

For Pradeep and Nihar, who have presided Karnataka’s rule in the pool for the past two decades, the lack of a strong second line of coaches is worrisome. But, there are signs that a new crop of top coaches will soon emerge. Former National champion Nisha Millet is on the job, by turning to be a full time coach. But, Karnataka needs more to keep the State flag flying in the pool!

source:  http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metroplus / by Kalyan Ashok / Bengaluru – July 02nd, 2016