Rutuja spearheads a fine show by Karnataka divers

For long Karnataka have displayed their calibre in swimming, reflected in the swimmers from the State dominating various national meets over the years.

However, at the 34th Sub-junior National Aquatic Championships, the Karnataka swimmers did not enjoy the best of times. Instaed, it was a bunch of little known divers that sprang a surprise with its valiant show. The State divers won a total of six medals that included one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

Belagavi’s Rutuja Pawar was the best performer for the side, winning a gold in Group I three-metre spring board and later adding a silver with a fine show in the one-metre spring board.

“It feels great,” Rutuja, who trains at Abba Sports Club, Shahpur in Belagavi, said of her achievement.

“It (the love for diving) started with my dad pushing me and my sister into swimming. But then when he saw us struggle against other swimmers, he asked us to get into diving and we started to excel there.”

For Rutuja’s dad, Vishwas Pawar, an NIS-trained coach, seeing his daughters excel in the pool was a long-cherished dream. “It was indeed my dream to see them (Rutuja and sister Nikita) win medals in the pool,” he said.

Nikita has now stopped competiting after landing herself a job.

“But then seeing them not match up to the standard that Karnataka sets in swimming, I thought why not try another sport? So I asked them to take up athletics. But even there, they were good only at a certain level. They could never make the cut to be in the State team. That’s when I pushed them into diving.”

Manohara Sharma’s story is a little different. The 14-year-old daughter of an Army Major got the first glimpse of the sport after her dad was transferred to the Army Service Corps (ASC) in Bengaluru.

“I saw it at the ASC in Bengaluru,” she said.

“They have a diving team and I used to go and watch them train. I enjoyed seeing that. One day I asked my dad if I could also try my hand at it. Though initially he was scared, he let me have a go at it. And then slowly I improved at it,” she described.

And the improvement was evident when the 14-year-old clinched a bronze in the Group II, one-metre spring with a total of 187.90 points.

Like Manohara, Hemam London Singh too owes his diving success to the Army. Hailing from Imphal, the 17-year-old got his first glimpse of diving when at the MEG and Centre’s facility in Bengaluru. “I was a new recruit at the MEG when I saw the MEG team train at the facility near Ulsoor lake. I joined them in 2010. Though I couldn’t make the cut for the Services team, I was allowed to represent Karnataka and things seem to have fallen in place since then,” he explained.

The move seems to have worked for the Manipur-born who was in great form and won silver medals in the Group I, one-metre and three-metre spring board events.