The story of Navi Mumbai's open water swimming champions

Itrsquos 6 am but Shubham Vanmali has already slipped on his swimming cap and trunks when we meet him at Father Agnel Sports Complex in Sector 9A Vashi Having covered nearly 36km in the English Channel often acknowledged as the Mount Everest of swimming in August 4 2014 in 12 hours 42 minutes followed by 17km in the Strait of Gibraltor in 3 hours 16 minutes ten days later the 19yearold is getting ready to add another feather to his cap in August the 31km swim in the Catalina Channel America The student of Nerulrsquos NCRD Sterling College has been swimming since he was eight In 2013 he shifted his focus entirely from the safe environs of the pool to open water swimming mdash a sport that is finding champions in Navi MumbaiShubham Vanmali 19 trains at Vashis Father Agnel Sports Complex for the 31km swim through Catalina Channel in August PicSameer MarkandeFollow the coachThe skills required for competitive swimming and openwater swimming vary say coaches While the former relies on short bursts of energy the latter is about endurance mental strength and will power In the last one year the Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association a unit of the Swimming Federation of India has issued certificates to 25 swimmers from the state for having completed a long distance openwater swim categorised as a swim in an outdoor water body such as a river lake or oceanManav Mehta coached by Santosh Manohar Patil at the Uran Creek on Thursday The Kharghar resident was the youngest member of an Indian open water swim team that swam from Goa to Mumbai this yearPicSameer MarkandeOf these says Kishor Vaidya a member of the associationrsquos managing committee 15 certificates were handed to swimmers from the satellite town Others add their own statistics Raju Palkar secretary of the Sindhudurg District Aquatic Association which organises thestatelevel Malvan sea swimming competition mdash an annual 1km 2km 3km and 5km race in Malvan Sindhudurg District mdash says of nearly 1500 participants in December 2014 nearly 70 were from Navi MumbaiSaee Sukale and her coach Kishore Patil during a training session at Shailesh Tower Swimming Pool NerulGood pools that cater to those who treat swimming as more than a recreational sport awardwinning coaches media frenzy and an increasing number of children ready to make the sacrifice it takes are reasons for this riseShubham Vanmali who crossed the English Channel last year even as his legs gave inTill five years ago Vanmali was training at Nerul Gymkhana and D Y Patil Sports Academy which was equipped with an Olympicsized swimming pool He switched to the Vashi complex where the 2011 Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner for Model Coach in Swimming Gokul Kamath conducts his sessionsAjay Thakur and Santosh Manohar Patil who run the Uranbased Open Water Swimming Club of India have launched 17 new routes along the Mumbai coastlineThe 25metre pool Vanmali says is meant for serious swimmers ldquoIt has eight lanes and I can train here for several hours a day As per my weekly workout I have to finish swimming 120km to 130kmrdquo he addsTejesh Parsekar 25 has spent Rs 30 lakhs for five international events His mother Pooja says she and her husband have funded his trips by taking loansKamath says the satellite town falls under Thane district in competitions ldquoAnd 50 per cent of the swimmers in these competitions come from Navi Mumbairdquo points out the 37yearold Navi Mumbai with its many attractions is also causing defections Rutuja Udeshi a silver medalist at the Singapore National Aquatic Championships in 2014 says her parents moved from Dombivli to Vashi in 2007 because ldquothe latter has better training facilitiesrdquoLure of the seaTejesh Parsekar 25 doesnrsquot exactly make openwater swimming sound like a dreamy sport to take up While recalling his world recordmaking swim which he completed backstroke across the Strait of Gibraltar in the year 2010 the first memory to strike him is throwing upHe did it 18 times over the nearly 2okm journey ldquoYou canrsquot stop swimming because the water is about 12ordmC and you run the risk of hypothermia The seawater goes into your nose and mouth and the vomit is all over your face But you wash yourself and continuerdquo he says when we meet at his Vashi residenceSponsorships are tough to come by and apart from a certificate winners are not usually awarded cash What then isthe lureLike others Parsekar was introduced to the sport when he was six by his coach He attempted his first openwater swim mdash the 14kilometre swim from Uranrsquos Mora jetty to the Gateway of India in 1996 mdash completing it in under three hours Beating nature is an addictive high says Parsekar who also coaches students at the Mahatma School of Academic and Sports in PanvelVanmali agrees ldquoIt isnrsquot easy For instance while swimming the English Channel last year my legs gave in at one point owing to an old injuryI completed the swim by paddling with my hands Snack breaks mdash where someone on your boat crew throws you energy drinks mdash are timed to 20 seconds and you canrsquot rest your hand on the boat or you will get disqualifiedrdquo he adds But beating the odds is exhilarating He credits the discipline that the training provided for his improved grades ldquoI am dyslexic and was a below average student But in Class X I scored 72 per centrdquo he grinsCharting new watersMumbai has a rich tradition of openwater swimming say coaches The legendary DharamtarGateway of India route is one that every newbie dreams of swimming It also hosts two legendary openwater races mdash the statelevel Sunkrock to Gateway of India and the allIndia Open Sea Swimming Competition conducted by the Indian Navy However lack of official records of title holders inspired coaches Ajay Thakur and Santosh Manohar Patil to open the Uranbased Open Water Swimming Club of India This year they launched 17 new routes including the Vashi BridgeGateway and the Belapur Bridge to GatewayldquoIt took us four years to study the routesrdquo says Patil 34 who has participated in five international events which provided them a perspective on how to turn things around back home ldquoIn 2013 we approached the Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association and Mumbai Port Trust for permission We also approached the Maritime and Navy departments for coastal maps Using these we studied the routes currents waves and depth at each spotWe have also introduced a live tracking system to track swimmers from the boat We also started using light sticks which swimmers can use in case they get lostrdquo says Thakur Another plan is to train Uranbased swimming star Raj Patil to swim across the 110km long Strait of Florida ldquoWe want him to become the first Asian to do so by 2016rdquo Thakur adds excitedA media monsterYet the sportrsquos popularity many argue is unlikely to win India a medal ldquoStatelevel swimming competitions are cutthroat and scoring a medal is toughrdquo says Vanmali adding ldquoBut if you swim from Uran to Alibaug there will be a lot of media attention which is why people get tempted to give it a shotrdquo Kamath agrees ldquoThey see one Nerul boy or girl swim long distance and everyone wants to get on the bandwagonrdquo This means that swimmers donrsquot train for Olympiclevel open water swimming competitions happy with the media attention ldquoYou now have a 5km openwater event at the Olympics but nobody in India trains for it The ones who usually attempt it are the 1500 metre competitive swimmers not regular openwater swimmersrdquo he elaboratesAn expensive featThe Open Water Swimming Club of India charges R5060K per event depending on the distance the cost is inclusive of boats guards and food for the event itself Dipica Dias mother to sevenyearold Andrew Dias who came fifth in last yearrsquos Malvan race says they pay R15000 for halfyearly sessions with coach Sanketh Sawant at Navi Mumbai Sports AssociationSome parents admit itrsquos a tough sport to sponsor The bill of Parsekarrsquos five international events totals R30 lakhs The regime is expensive ldquoHe had to be fed sprouts dried fruits and juices We funded his trips through loans So now I asked him to earn and save a little money to pursue thisrdquo his mother Pooja says Itrsquos not just the money ldquoOne parent has to be dedicated to thisrdquo says Suvarna Sukale mother of 12yearold Saee who swam the DharamtarGateway of India route in nine hours and 15 minutes this yearThe event cost them roughly Rs 80000 ldquoHer diet includes carbohydrates and proteins so I have to give her dried fruits in the morning protein biscuits cheese or paneer I also have to give her tiffin every two hours I also have to give her five eggs a dayrdquo says Survana when we catch up with her and Saee at Shailesh Tower Swimming Pool in Nerul So is Saee a disciplined eater The Ryan International School student laughs ldquoNo mum has to force merdquo