Bengaluru: She once hated getting into a pool. On Monday she rewrote what Indian swimming can claim.
Dhinidhi Desinghu, 16, took bronze in the women's 100m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, touching in 56.27 seconds. That lowered her own national record of 56.57, set at the Indian Championships in Ahmedabad on June 18.
Croatia's Ana Bobanovic won gold in 55.89 seconds and New Zealand's Alyssa Lawson silver in 56.13. Dhinidhi finished 0.38 seconds behind the winner and 0.14 behind Lawson.
It is India's first swimming medal at the Youth Olympics, and it makes her the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at an Olympic event, across the senior and youth editions. It was also India's first medal of the Dakar Games.
She had qualified third-fastest, swimming 56.80 in the heats, and became the first Indian woman to reach a Youth Olympics final.
In the final she turned fifth at the 50m mark in 27.31 seconds, then made up ground and places over the second length.
"I wasn't really thinking about a medal. It was mostly about improving my time," she said.
She also said the pool was shut for three days after she landed, costing her training time. "The weather was also hot and sticky but I think now that I have settled in, I will perform well in my next events."
She credited South African great Chad le Clos, who she said sought her out in the gallery, told her he was rooting for her and gave her a pin.
At 14 she was India's youngest athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, finishing 23rd in the 200m freestyle. In 2023 she topped the 200m freestyle at the 76th Senior National Aquatic Championships.
There was more for India on the same day. Judoka Khushbu Rajakbhai reached the final of the women's 63kg category, assuring herself of at least a silver and becoming only the second Indian judoka to make a Youth Olympics final.