From tennis practice partner to ace swimmer, meet Apeksha

Deepankar Sharda

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Chandigarh, June 11

Six-year-old Apeksha Fernandes would always accompany her Under-10 champion brother to play tennis as a practice partner. Little did she know that at the age of 17 she would become Maharashtra’s swimming star.

On Saturday, the ace swimmer bagged 200m gold medal in individual medley at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG). The gold became special as she clocked 02:25.18s, a new meet record. She defeated her nearest competitor Disha Bhandari (2:28.58s) of Uttar Pradesh by 3.40 milliseconds. Manavi Verma of Karnataka (2:29.73s) settled for third spot.

Apeksha’s parents wanted her to follow into the footsteps of her brother and become a successful tennis player. Her father Baylon Fernandes, Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the IIT Bombay, used to take Apeksha to the institute for attending practice sessions.

One fine day, she caught the attention of former Indian swimming coach Dr P Mohan Reddy. During a summer camp, she had taken an hour to complete a 1-km stretch. In a few months, she improved her swimming skills and took an hour to complete the 2.5-km medley. Since that day, there’s been no looking back for her.

Last year, she bagged three gold and one silver at a national-level swimming competition in Bengaluru. She also took part in the junior nationals in the age group of 15-17 years where she bagged four medals, including three gold.

Apeksha was the junior national champion in the U-14 category in the year 2019 before the pandemic. “In last Khelo India Games, the record stood at 02:25.80s. She is in marvellous form and she is all set to make it big for the Indian team. Even today, she looked good and defeated her closest competitor by a good margin,” said Reddy.

A splendid Apeksha added: “I would dedicate this gold medal to my parents. They are the ones who pushed me to swim. Coming years are very crucial for me, as I am eyeing to play for the country in some important championships. For today, it’s good to win the gold to put Maharashtra in a good position on the medals’ tally.”

Her mother is a psychiatrist and takes keen interest in Apeksha’s performance. “Everything has to be taken care of in this cut-throat competition. I get support from my parents and coaches in different variations and this helps me to maintain a good physical and mental balance during such important competitions,” she added.