Human Interest |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Nihar Ameen [national], IND |
General Interest |
Other information |
FAMILY SUPPORT His parents lived in Mumbai for 25 years before moving to Bangalore to aid his training. "To further my career, my parents quit their jobs and moved to Bangalore and started tutorials so they could ferry me around." (daijiworld.com, 23 Oct 2008; deccanchronicle.com, 22 Mar 2012)
RETIREMENT THOUGHTS He considered quitting the sport after failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. "I narrowly missed out on the Beijing Olympics berth in 2008 and I was shattered. I thought I didn't have it in me to fulfil my ambitions and my parents were investing hugely in my career. But my father and coach sat me down told me not to give up and some timely sponsorship helped me tide over the crisis then." (daijiworld.com, 23 Oct 2008; deccanchronicle.com, 22 Mar 2012)
OCCUPATION He joined the Indian Railways under a sports quota programme that allows him to train and compete internationally. (thehindu.com, 10 Oct 2017) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Bengaluru, IND |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Railway Sports Promotion Board [RSPB]: India |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Biotechnology, Genetics - Jain University: Bengaluru, IND |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
His mother wanted him to swim to stay fit. |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He learned to swim at age three and started competing at age five. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete, Railway Worker |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Watching Formula One races. (sportskeeda.com, 26 Apr 2016) |
Hero / Idol |
Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and US swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. (sportskeeda.com, 26 Apr 2016) |
Awards and honours |
In 2009 he received the Ekalavya Award from Karnataka government for his achievements in the sport. (Facebook profile, 05 May 2018) |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English, Hindi |
Family |
Wife Rakshitha Velani D'Souza |