Another stroke of Olympic luck

Mar 15, 2012 |

Bengaluru

Swimming against the high tide of financial difficulties is something Aaron D’Souza learnt the day he started competitive swimming. The only thing that kept the 19-year-old going was the Olympics.

On Wednesday, the Bengaluru lad realised his London dreams, qualifying in the 200 metre freestyle event at the Singapore National Open event. Aaron stopped the clock at 1.50.89 to surpass the ‘B’ qualifying mark of 1:51.59.

The youngster who nearly gave up the sport due to financial shortcomings said, “The fact that I’m London-bound is yet to sink in. I’m doubly happy that my father was here to see his dream come true.” Aaron, who trains under national chief coach Pradeep Kumar at the Basvanagudi Aquatic Centre, became the second city lad to make the London cut. Teenager Saurabh Sangvekar achieved the fete on Tuesday, taking the total number of Indian swimmers qualified for the Olympics to four.

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