“Everyone hates losing but I hate losing really bad,” says India’s Asian Games-bound teenage swim sensation Aryan Nehra, adding that an underwhelming National Games campaign last year just “flicked a switch in me”.
Nine months after the Games in Gujarat, the 19-year-old went on a record-breaking spree at the senior swimming nationals where he smashed as many as four national marks in a stupendous campaign.
“The National Games last year was an interesting experience for me. I had big expectations of myself going in. Coming home after that meet with zero gold medals was really tough for me.
“I think everyone hates losing I just feel like I hate losing so bad that it really flicked the switch in me,” Aryan told PTI.
Competing in his debut National Games, the talented freestyler won a few medals but their colour was not to his liking.
“Being someone from Gujarat, there was a lot of pressure and I don’t think I lived up to it. It kind of felt like I had a lot more to show and I wanted to make sure that I never feel that way again.”
The unpleasant experience, however, was the motivation he needed to push himself even harder.
“I worked a bit harder over the last year than I did in the past. I went back to the chopping blocks and just started over from scratch and put my head down. Eight, nine months of solid work. And here we are,” said Aryan.
Aryan entered the nationals having already qualified for the Asian Games and World Championships, starting in Japan next week, in the 800m and 1500m freestyle events.
At the nationals, he was adjudged the best male swimmer, having smashed the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle records as well as the 400m medley national mark.
“The goal was not necessarily to swim superfast, but just trying to make sure that the smaller things are in line — the technique, skills race strategies etc, making sure I’m ready for World Championships and Asian Games.”
Aryan is the first in his family to take up swimming and although his IAS officer father “took some time to digest it”, his family has been super supportive of his decision.
“I feel a long time ago, he would have had certain expectations and plans for me, maybe me following in his footsteps but he’s done a great job of understanding that it’s not going to happen and I’m going to be creating my own path.”
The Ahmedabad swimmer specialises in the 1500m freestyle, which is considered one of the toughest events in swimming.
“When I was younger, I always had kids older and bigger than me in training. In practices, I never really had much of a chance in sprints.
“It was a little demotivating but anything over 200m, they start to get tired and me being the little scrawny kid I am I could keep going. Winning is more fun than losing so I started having more fun swimming the longer races.”
Aryan is a part of the swimming programme at the University of Florida, which is known for producing some of the biggest names in swimming, including seven-time Olympic gold medallist Caeleb Dressel.
Being around these swimmers Aryan is trying to pick up as much as he can.
“You watch them and you see patterns like there are things that they do that some others don’t and that’s clearly what makes them better. You pick those things up from them. Some are very obvious, some are a little harder to notice.
“The more time you spend with them, the more we realise it’s not that complicated. Once you start to learn how they think and you like really sit down and talk with them like their thought process is very simple.”
Rushdee Warley, CEO of Inspire Institute of Sport, that supports Aryan feels that India has a lot of swimming talent and just need to tap into it if it wants to be an Olympic giant.
“There is a lot of swimming talent in India. Swimming is very important if any country wants to be a world player at the Olympics, you have to compete in aquatics. Swimming has got more than a 100 medals.”
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