Swim out, sister

by SHRIYA DHITAL

FROM ISSUE # 198 (June 2012) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Sometimes I feel like I live to swim. The smell of chlorine gives me a rush to equal a crack addict's last hit of cocaine: I am consumed by it. The choppy waves of the pool serve as my time capsule; they carry me to another reality. Gliding through the deep blue, I can feel every muscle in my body working in unison to propel me through the water. Many people ask me how I can spend most of my days swimming, why I love it so much, and there is no one answer.

Being a Nepali swimmer isn't easy. Due to lack of funding, our resources are limited and Nepal doesn't have the facilities to support a year- long training program. There are no indoor heated pools, so the progress made every season is lost and has to be recovered, making it very hard to improve our timings. We are struggling to keep up with the rest of the world.

Nepal is far from perfect but so is swimming. It's hard to be a competitive athlete. Disappointment can be shattering and there is no telling how many times you will have to lose to reach your goals, the same way there is no way to tell how long we will have to wait till the political strife in Nepal comes to an end. Nausea comes before every single race. Sometimes, in the middle of a training session I feel a desperate need to escape this miserable, grueling torture to my body. But I don't give up. Because amidst the dizzy cocktail of feelings that come along with my swimming career, be it the bitterness of losing or the thrilling pride of a medal, I have found hope. And I still have hope for my country.

Though it might seem inevitable to go to international meets and feel intimidated. I go as a representative of a lost little third-world country torn apart by war and I return every time with a burning inside me. It fuels my drive to do more. At the age of 12, I was chosen to participate in the FINA World Championships in Rome. I have carried the dream of taking the swimming in Nepal to another level ever since. In the Shanghai World Championships I was able to break a 12 year old national record in 100m freestyle and broke a 9 year old 50m butterfly record upon returning home. With every new record, we are closer to attaining an international position.

Passion, perseverance and dedication is the code I live by. I am proud to be part of the fastest generation yet and I want to raise the bar even further. So though skeptics will tell us that we are at a stand-still, to look the other way when it comes to Nepali sports I encourage you to come to the stadiums and flip to the khel-kud page on the papers. Seeing women and men putting their hearts and soul into a game they love and enjoy is truly magical.

And I see so many determined youth around me, despite the helplessness and pessimism around us that has come with the current lawlessness, I am inspired. To devote your time to something, purely out of your own desire, to strive for excellence whether it is on the field, court or the pool, and to sport the Nepali flag on your jersey with your head held high is a beautiful feeling. And that, is why I love swimming.