Narmada coin hunters make glorious splash

Bhopal: This is a fairy tale about children who have never seen a swimming pool, but today they are medal prospects for the state and the country.
Jumping at Bhedaghat, Jabalpur, to fish out coin tossed by tourists to eke out their livelihood was their routine until a few days ago. Now, the same group of children are jumping in modern swimming pools.Meet a group of 26 children who have been identified for the newly opened swimming academy of sports and youth welfare department. TOI in its June 27, 2016 edition had carried a story mentioning that sports department had planned to select children at Bhedgahat for the swimming academy. There were children in selection trials who never heard of swimming pool in the past.
A child got so excited after seeing the pool from inside that he kept on pleading coaches to allow him to spend 24 hours at the pool. "I never knew that jumping, which has never been a big deal for me, would give me an opportunity to see the pool from inside. I will never forget this experience," said Ajit Bhoomiya.
"I have never seen swimming pool in my life. I was little nervous at the start of the trials. However, after a couple of jumps I got the rhythm. Jumping from height is not an issue for me. This pool is nothing in front of Narmada where I used to jump in flowing water and fish out coins," said Durgesh Barman.
In all, 82 children including 20 girls participated in the selection trials. They were in the age group of 8 to 20 years.
Out of these, 26 children including 6 girls have been identified for the final selections. Majority of the children are from humble family background. "They are from smaller places like Dalpatpur, Gopalpur and other rural places situated on the outskirts of Jabalpur," said coach Mathew.
Sports minister Yashodhra Raje Scindia recently inaugurated MP Swimming Academy situated in Hoshangabad.
When contacted, Scindia said, "Children at Bhedghat are the rare diving talent. We are fortunate to have such talent. We want to give these children an opportunity to perform. I am confident that down the line in next three years they will make India proud in international meets."