Hyderabad swimmer Shivani hopes to build on her success in nationals

Hyderabad: Hyderabad swimmer Shivani Karra has proved her mettle by winning four medals at the recently-concluded 38th sub-junior national aquatic championship at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Swimming Complex, Rajkot. She bagged two gold medals in 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke. She also won a silver and bronze in the 100m butterfly event and 4x50m freestyle […]

Hyderabad: Hyderabad swimmer Shivani Karra has proved her mettle by winning four medals at the recently-concluded 38th sub-junior national aquatic championship at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Swimming Complex, Rajkot.

She bagged two gold medals in 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke. She also won a silver and bronze in the 100m butterfly event and 4x50m freestyle relay respectively. The 10-year-old swimmer is delighted with her performance at the nationals. “I am very happy for this win because last year I participated in nationals but I missed the medal. But this time I have managed to win four medals,” said the elated Shivani.

Speaking of her training for the national meet, the sixth standard student of Jubilee Hills Public School said, “I have improved my timings by practicing time trials by competing with the previous year’s nationals timings. After all this I felt a bit nervous at the competition, but my coach Auysh sir encouraged me to overcome the mood which helped me to win gold.”

“I like water and I enjoy playing in it whenever we go to beaches on vacations. Seeing that my parents encouraged me and joined the Gachibowli Stadium to learn swimming when I was six years old,” revealed the young swimmer when asked about how she took up swimming.

Shivani coach Ayush Yadav was also glad for the victory and said she will bring more laurels to the State as well as country. “I am happy about the achievement. This is her maiden victory at the national level event and she has the potential to excel in swimming and will bring more medals in future,” said Ayush.

“Shivani works hard and is honest about her goals. She grabs the instructions quickly and always wants to compete with better swimmers. She developed her game by improving the timings from tournament to tournament. She is committed to her goals,” recalled the coach.

When asked about Shivani’s pet event, he said, “She is too young to decide whether she wants to be a long-distance swimmer or short-distance swimmer. As of now, she is doing well in all strokes. She needs at least six years of experience to choose what is best for her”.