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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His father, a former basketball player, talked him into trying swimming at the PGT pool near his home in Kolhapur, India. "My dad wanted me to concentrate on an individual event." |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | He tore a ligament in his knee a week before the 2019 World Championships, but still competed at the tournament in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. He had sustained another serious knee injury earlier in his career. (thehindu.com, 02 Sep 2019; news18.com, 13 Jun 2018) He missed a portion of the 2007 season as a result of illness and study commitments. (hindu.com, 18 Jan 2008) |
| Nicknames | Veer [Brave]. (virdhawal.blogspot.com, 19 Feb 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Khar Gymkhana: Mumbai, IND |
General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | He was presented with India's Arjuna Award in 2011. (firstpost.com, 23 Mar 2018) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Mumbai, IND |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To coach another swimmer to an Olympic medal once he has retired from competition. (olympics.com, 27 Jun 2023) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Training Regime | As he has grown older he has placed more emphasis on recovery and nutrition. "It has really helped me to get in shape and become strong. With recovery, I feel I'm a whole lot older. So, not able to put in the same amount of hours. Higher intensity, lifting heavier weights in the gym. Recovery itself has been challenging, I need a couple of massages every week. I need to see the physio often." |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began swimming at age four in Kolhapur, India. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Coach, Public Servant |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Other information | COACHING In 2021 he began working as a swimming coach at the Khar Gymkhana club in Mumbai, India. "My wife Rujuta was helping the girls initially, and after some time I got involved with the senior lot and helped them in their training before some competition. They liked my approach. Since then, I have been training them for the past year [speaking in 2022]. I still haven't decided to become a full-time coach. But I enjoy coaching. It is something I am likely to do in the future." (sportstar.thehindu.com, 06 Oct 2022) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Wife Rujuta Bhatt Khade |
General Interest | |
| Famous relatives | His wife Rujuta Bhatt has competed in swimming at national level in India. (indianexpress.com, 09 Jul 2023) |
| Most influential person in career | His father. (sportskeeda.com, 23 Jul 2023) |
| Milestones | He became the youngest male swimmer to represent India at the Olympic Games when he competed in his first event at the 2008 Games in Beijing at age 16 years and 347 days. (SportsDeskOnline, 13 Jul 2023; olympics.com, 27 Jun 2023) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Every time I lose a race, I want to go back, work harder and win the same race next time around. So that's what kept me going." (olympics.com, 27 Jun 2023) |