There was a time when Dhinidhi Desinghu did not want to go anywhere near a swimming pool. She hated being in the water, dreaded putting her head underwater and struggled to even get her feet into the pool. Her mother, she recalled, would sometimes push her in.
On Monday, the 16-year-old from Bengaluru stood on the podium at the Youth Olympics in Dakar, having achieved something no Indian swimmer had managed before. Desinghu won bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle, becoming the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at an Olympic event, across the senior and youth editions.
She touched the wall in 56.27 seconds, setting a new national record and improving her own mark of 56.57, set at the Indian Championships in Ahmedabad on June 18. Croatia’s Ana Bobanovic won gold in 55.89 seconds, while New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson took silver in 56.13.
The medal was secured with a strong finish. Desinghu was fifth at the halfway mark, having completed the first 50 metres in 27.31 seconds. But she found another gear in the second half, making up ground to finish third and claim a place on the podium.
It was a remarkable turn for a swimmer who once found the sport difficult to embrace. Speaking to Olympics.com ahead of the final, Desinghu looked back at how her relationship with swimming had changed.
“My mom used to kind of push me in. Later on, I grew to like the sport. I grew to love it,” she said.
“In the beginning stages, it was so difficult. I hated it, honestly. I didn’t want to get in. I hated being in the water. I hated heights. I just hated swimming.
“As time went by, I started winning, I started making friends. That really helped me be the swimmer who I am today.”
OLYMPICS DEBUT AT 14
Her journey has been an unusually rapid one. Desinghu was only 14 when she represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympicsbecoming the youngest member of the country’s contingent. She competed in the women’s 200m freestyle, finishing 23rd overall, but described the experience as an opportunity to learn rather than a chance to win.
“I was 14 when I went to the Olympics and at the time it was just for the experience of it,” she told Olympics.com.
“Getting to meet all the amazing athletes, it’s the biggest competition in the world, so getting to be there was really big. It opened my eyes to what opportunities are out there in the world.”
Two years later, her approach to the biggest stage available to junior swimmers was markedly different. At Dakar, she was no longer there simply to take in the atmosphere. She wanted to compete for a medal.
“Being here today, I’m quite nervous, honestly, because these are the best juniors in the world. They’re going to be my competitors for the whole future. They’re going to compete against me neck and neck. It’s something that I want to be happening,” she said.
“It adds a bit of pressure compared to the Olympics. This, I take it a lot more seriously. Paris was just the experience as a kid. But now, I’m here to win. That kind of perspective is a bit different for me now.”
Desinghu admitted that the pressure was difficult to shut out, but she had learnt to use her nerves rather than fight them. She also drew confidence from her ability to compete in hot conditions and the familiarity of her favourite event.
“I’m trying not to take it too much into my head. I know I compete well in really hot climates and I’ll go through with my favourite race. Having that sits down the pressure a little bit,” she said before the final.
For her, being nervous was not necessarily a disadvantage. “Having those nerves kind of helps. It’s like a little extra energy that you are having. I kind of take in the nerves.”
That energy carried her through a final in which she had work to do after the opening 50 metres. The national record was another marker of her progress, but the medal gave the performance a significance beyond the stopwatch.
Desinghu had already made her Olympic debut as a teenager, but in Dakar she gave Indian swimming a breakthrough on the Olympic stage. From a child who once hated the water to a national-record holder and Youth Olympic medallist, her journey has now reached a historic milestone. The swimmer who once had to be coaxed into the pool has given India a reason to celebrate in
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