Indian swimmer Tirthank Pegu described his bronze medal at the Youth Olympics as a dream realised, attributing it to a year of dedicated training with his coach. Speaking at a media roundtable in New Delhi, Pegu emphasised that the recent successes of Indian swimmers on the international stage were the result of sustained efforts rather than sudden achievements.
Pegu made history by becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympics, securing bronze in the men’s 200-metre butterfly event with a time of 2:01.25 in the final. He had qualified for the final by finishing first in the heats with a time of 2:05.30. The gold medal went to Egypt’s Zain Ali in 1:57.88, while Vietnam’s Duong Van Hoang Quy took silver with 2:00.32.
Alongside Pegu, Dhinidhi Desinghu also won bronze medals in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events, contributing to India’s overall medal tally at the Youth Olympics, which included three medals in wrestling.
Asked why India produced two Youth Olympics swimming medallists, Pegu credited both the experience of Dhinidhi Desinghu, who had established herself as a promising swimmer prior to the event, and the contributions of previous Indian swimmers like Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj, who paved the way for emerging athletes. Nataraj was a finalist in the 2018 Youth Olympics.
“I would say, like, it’s not a sudden success. Like, if you have heard of Dhinidhi, she’s been the youngest Olympian, like in Paris. So she already was a good swimmer before this competition. And like, about me, it’s like I have been training for this competition, like, as I said, for a year. So I like the previous swimmers creating a pathway, like Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj; he/she was one of the finalists in the 2018 Youth Olympics. So it’s not, I’d say; it’s not sudden, actually,” Pegu said.
Pegu is an athlete at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), and his success marks a significant achievement for Indian swimming on the international youth stage.
