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Indian swimmers have been participating in the Olympics since 1948. A total of 28 swimmers have had the privilege of representing India at the Summer Games, including the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Out of which, seven of them have been women.
Even though Indian swimmers participating in the Olympics has put the country's swimming banner on the world map, these athletes have not been able to cement a steady place on the global platform of the sport yet.
Indian swimmers come up short more often than not when competing against the best in the world but the fight goes on for these competitive athletes.
Female swimmers began representing India at the 1952 Summer Games. Maana Patel became the seventh female Indian swimmer in the last seven decades to represent India at the Olympics when she qualified for Tokyo.
On that note, let's take a look at the seven women swimmers who represented India at the Summer Games
Check out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
List of Indian women swimmers participated at the Olympics.
#1 Dolly Nazir
Dolly Nazir was the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the Olympics. She competed in the women’s 100m freestyle and 200m breaststroke at the 1952 Summer Games.
Dolly Nazir finished 7th in heat 2 with a timing of 1:24.60 seconds in the 100m freestyle but failed to qualify for the semifinals. In the 200m breaststroke heats, she clocked 3:37.90 seconds and was placed 32nd overall.
Dolly Nazir was the women’s national record holder in the 100m backstroke.
#2 Arati Saha
Arati Saha was one of two female swimmers alongside Dolly Nazir to represent India at the 1952 Olympics. She competed in the women’s 200m breaststroke and finished 33rd in the heats with a timing of 3:40.80 seconds. At the age of 12, Arati was the youngest swimmer to represent India at the Olympics.
Arati Saha was a protege of Sachin Nag, who was a 1951 Asian Games gold medalist and the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics in 1948.
Arati came into the national limelight after winning two silver medals in the 100m freestyle and 200m breaststroke and a bronze in the 200m freestyle at the 1948 National Championships.
#3 Sangeeta Puri
Sangeeta Puri was the first Indian female swimmer to participate at the Olympics since the 1952 Summer Games. She competed in the women’s 50m freestyle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Sangeeta's appearance in the Olympics saw India end their 44-year hiatus of sending a female swimmer to the Summer Games.
Sangeeta placed 48th overall in the heats with a timing of 28.02 seconds. Prior to the Olympics, Sangeeta Puri represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won a gold medal and a silver in the 100m backstroke and 200m backstroke respectively.
In 1994, Sangeeta Puri competed in the 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly at the Commonwealth Games.
#4 Nisha Millet
Nisha Millet was the only Indian female swimmer to represent the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She competed in the women’s 200m freestyle and was placed 37th overall in the heats with a timing of 2:08.39 seconds.
Prior to the 2000 Summer Games, Nisha Millet participated in the 1998 Asian Games and 1999 World Championships. She was the first Indian athlete to clinch 14 gold medals at the National Games in 1999.
Nisha Millet retired from competitive swimming after failing to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Also read: Olympian Nisha Millet excited to see growth in Indian men’s swimming but wants women to match
#5 Shikha Tandon
Shikha Tandon was the only Indian swimmer to represent the country at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was the first and only Indian female swimmer to date to qualify for two events. Shikha competed in the women’s 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle.
Shikha Tandon finished 40th in the heats in the 50m freestyle by clocking 27.08 seconds. She was placed 46th overall with a timing of 59.70 seconds in the 100m freestyle heats.
Shikha Tandon made her international debut as a 13-year-old at the 1998 Asian Games. In 2001, at the age of 16, she made her World Championships debut. In 2006, Shikha was the Indian female swimmer to win an international medal in a short course. She won a bronze medal at the Asian age-group swimming Championships.
Shikha Tandon holds the national records for both women's 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle.
#6 Shivani Kataria
Shivani Kataria was the first Indian female swimmer to participate at the Olympics since the 2004 Athens Games. She competed in the women’s 200m freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Shivani couldn’t qualify for the semifinals after she was placed 41st overall in the heats with a timing of 2:09.30 seconds.
Shivani Kataria's international breakthrough came in 2016 when she won a gold medal at the South Asian Games.
#7 Maana Patel
Maana Patel is the seventh female swimmer in the history of Indian swimming to participate in the Olympics. She will be featuring in the women’s 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Maana Patel secured her Olympic berth through the Universality quota.
Maana Patel first shot to fame when she won two gold, three silver and a bronze at the 2016 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal. In 2019, she bagged six medals at the Asian Age Group Championships in Bangalore.
Maana Patel holds national records for women’s 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke and 200m backstroke.
Maana Patel is only 21 years old and the expectations from her to win a medal are not that high. However, the talented young swimmer will definitely be putting her best foot forward and might just surprise everyone with an impressive outing in Tokyo.
Checkout: Tokyo Olympic Swimming Schedule
