Records Bring Me a Step Closer to Olympic Dream

AT the junior national aquatics championships taking place in 2019, a young boy from Tirunelveli hoped to make a splash as in butterfly.

- CHANDRA PRABHU @ Chennai

However, that attempt went in vain as he finished eighth in the 100m final. After that moment, he went up to his mother, who was in the stands, sullen and in despair. The mother insisted that he give himself another chance. "If you don't improve, you can call quit," was what his mother told him. The teen gave himself another chance, and in the National School Games in November the same year, he won gold and was on an upward trajectory.

On Sunday, the then teen, now 21, broke the national record (NR) in the men's 100m butterfly with a timing of 52.57s. This is Benedicton Rohit, Tamil Nadu's latest record man in the pool. It can be said that Kavitha Sheebarani's advice on not giving yourself up and trusting one's ability coupled with hard work has quite an impact on his son.