The little mermaid
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Andhra Pradesh is not known for producing swimmers of a high calibre. In a sport that is dominated by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, swimmers from AP have often struggled to make a mark at the national level. But at the recently-concluded Fede-ration Cup swimming championships held at the Aquatics Complex at the GMC Balayogi Athletics Stadium in Gachibowli, Hyderabad’s Nallam Shreya surprised many by bagging the silver medal in 200-metre backstroke category.
Shreya clocked 3:19.77 seconds and finished behind Gujarat’s Gitanjali Pandey. She was 1:25.59 seconds slower than the Gold medallist but at just 15 years, time is in Shreya’s favour. Like any other youngster, Shreya — born in Kadapa and brought up in Hyderabad — started swimming because of her parents, who wanted her to spend lesser time in front of the television.
But it wasn’t long before her natural talent was noticed by her coaches at the various camps she took part in — they encouraged her to participate in competitions. In 2001, Shreya claimed the bronze medal in the Mayor’s Cup held in Hyderabad. “After I won the bronze there (Mayor’s Cup), my parents thought I could do well as a swimmer and encouraged me,” said Shreya. A few years later, she bagged silver in the 100-metre freestyle and individual medley events at the South Zone juniors meet.
But her swimming career came to a halt in 2007, when Shreya, then in 8th Grade, shifted focus to studies. “My parents wanted me to concentrate on my studies. And I was already attending special coaching classes and hence found it difficult to take time out to train,” said Shreya, who is studying Intermediate at the Narayana Junior College.
The hiatus ended only this year when she started swimming again at the Gachibowli complex, three months before the Federation Cup. “It was great to win silver with just three months’ training. But now I have to get serious and train regularly,” she said. “My dream is to represent India at the Olympics. But for that, I have to work much harder.” Shreya now wants to train under an established coach so that she can improve upon her timings. “Coaching here in AP isn’t too good. In Bengaluru, the coaching techniques are modern and tailor-made for each swimmer. If not regularly, I would like to go there and train at least for two-three months,” she said.
Shreya certainly has the potential to change the less-than-desirable swimming scene in the state. But before that can happen, she has to train regularly under a permanent coach and ensure that she does not take a break again. For Shreya, swimming is her passion and her dreams are lofty, but the competition levels are really high. In time, Shreya should be able to match the big fish in the pool.
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