Andheri resident Anirudh Nansi, 64, who is a heart transplant recipient and India water polo player, is all set to swim for glory at the World Transplant Games currently on in Germany
Anirudh Nansi sets the water churning at the Lokhandwala Complex pool. PICS/SATEJ SHINDE
It is Deutschland and the spirit of dedication, determination and never-say-die. Mumbai's Anirudh Nansi, 64, is in Dresden (Germany) to compete at the World Transplant Games, which began yesterday, August 17 and will go on till August 24. Nansi, an Andheri resident, will compete in the swimming events at these Games.
His events are going to be on August 20, where he will compete in 100m and 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke. On August 21, he will compete in the 50m and 400m freestyle. He will compete in the 60 to 69 years age group, in the transplant recipient category. Nansi is a heart transplant recipient. After developing a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, where his heart ejection fraction was just 12 per cent of its capacity, Nansi was fitted with a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in 2009.
Anirudh and his wife, Falguni
The CRT is like a special pacemaker to improve the heart's pumping ability. Nansi, a retired assistant commissioner of customs & excise, said, “I also had a brain stroke before the CRT, which I recovered from. I was being advised to go in for a heart transplant in October 2019. In December 2020, I underwent a heart transplant surgery at the HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. The heart came all the way from Goa! This was during peak COVID, when very few surgeries were being done. The recovery was long, it was so challenging, but the operation was a success, God is kind and great.”
The gift
Nansi celebrated the gift of a new life by sports training and gradually started participating in Masters' Events in local swim meets. He also runs, regularly participating in races ranging from 5 to 10km. He works out at the gym, follows a special diet and five months ago, started training with absolute focus for Dresden.
“I decided to compete in the 2025 World Transplant Games,” he said. The World Transplant Games feature different sports. The Games competitors are divided into different categories like transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, and supporters. The Games are a window for raising awareness about organ donation.
Coach talk
The indomitable Nansi has been coached and mentored in water polo by the legendary Kishen Singh at the PM Hindu Bath, Chowpatty. Sports trophies and medals jostle for space in his cabinet at his Andheri Lokhandwala home. He was a key member of the 1987 gold medal-winning water polo team in Jaipur. He represented Maharashtra in water polo from 1978 to 1987 and during this time, Maharashtra won gold once, silver four times and the bronze four times. He represented India in the Indo-Bangladesh-Sri Lanka water polo meet, where they won gold.
Nansi played water polo for Maharashtra from 1978–87. PICS/Satej Shinde
From the pool to the pitch, Nansi's athletic prowess stretched to cricket too. He is one of the few sportsmen who have represented Mumbai University in two sports — water polo and cricket. He represented RA Podar College, Mumbai University, MCA Colts, Central Bank, Customs, Shivaji Park Youngsters and Karnatak Sporting Association in cricket in Mumbai.
Champion stuff
“One must live the life of a champion. I am living a dream life, but it is not just me alone, I have so many people to thank. I know what my family has gone through. My wife Falguni is the wind beneath my wings. My two children, Jharna and Nakul, son-in-law Mukund, daughter-in-law Vartika and granddaughter Aria are my pillars too,” he explained.
Anirudh's current swimming coach, Sandip Patil, who trains him at the Forest Club in Hiranandani, Powai, said, “Nansi’s commitment is unwavering. He has worked incredibly hard for these Games. Yet, going beyond sport, as his coach, I too have learnt a lot of life lessons from him."
Selfless giving
Dr Anvay Mulay Director, Advanced Cardiac Sciences and Transplant, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, said, “A once healthy sportsman lost his normal life to advanced heart failure. Medication and lifestyle changes could not restore him, but a heart transplant gave him not just survival, but the gift of living fully again. Today, five years after he got a heart transplant, he has gone from struggling for every breath to living independently. Nansi's participation in the Transplant Games stands as a living tribute to the generosity of an anonymous donor. Let us honour them, celebrate life, and spread the message that organ donation is not just life-saving, but life-giving.
A treasure
Nansi’s friend Pradeep Divgikar has one word when asked to describe Nansi: “Fighter,” said Divgikar, who is a former water polo player and water polo administrator. He added, “Anirudh is a valiant warrior and an inspirational role model for organ recipients. I treasure his friendship and wish him all the best for the World Transplant Games.”
Shishir Hattangadi, former Mumbai Ranji Trophy cricket captain, said, “Anirudh has always been hugely accomplished in the pool. He was my opening partner in university cricket, so I have watched him closely from the other end.”
Dr Talha Meeran, additional director and head, Heart Failure Program, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, said, “Nansi's journey is a remarkable testament to the achievements made possible by advanced transplant medicine, allowing recipients to pursue their passion and return to competitive sport after transplantation.”
In gratitude
Nansi signed off with, “Most of all, I want to thank my donor family. They gave me the heart of their beloved son, a young boy who had passed away. It is because of this precious heart that came from Goa to Mumbai, thanks to a selfless family that I have a new life. My gratitude is for the donors and I am indebted to them forever, right from the bottom of, yes, my heart.”
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