How swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu became the youngest Indian at the Paris Olympics

It’s a routine that Dhinidhi has been following for a few years now, one that makes her among the most promising young swimmers these days. And the sacrifices made over the last few years is taking her to the Olympic Games in Paris.

“I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics since I started swimming competitively. But the long term goal was the Los Angeles Games in 2028. I didn’t know it was going to happen this year," Dhinidhi says.

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She is the youngest member of the Indian Olympics contingent and the only swimmer alongside Srihari Nataraj to make the cut. The duo qualified through the Universality quota handed out to National Olympic Committees that failed to make the qualifying times between 1 March 2023 and 23 June 2024.

But it is during these months that Dhinidhi emerged as one of the most improved swimmers in the country.

At the Senior National Championships in July last year, she made a new national record on her way to winning gold in the 200m freestyle (which is also her event at the Paris Olympics). The youngest on the Indian team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, she was part of the quartet that set new national records in the women’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay in September.

“It was an honour and a privilege to be at the Asian Games. I got to know what a major multi-sport event looks like. And what it was like to adjust to the food, the different time zone and be part of a team. It made me feel a lot more confident about going to other international competitions," she says.

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Then, at the National Games in November, she took home seven gold medals—the most by a female swimmer. Her peerless performance included setting two national records in the mixed 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relay.

“The National Games was one of the best meets for me, since I could swim alongside some of the best Indian swimmers such as Virdhawal Khade. In 2022, I got to be a part of only two races, so to just swim so many events was a delight, though coming back with seven gold medals was completely unexpected," she says.

At the start of the 2024 season, Dhinidhi had a simple goal—to focus on the next competition that came her way. In February, she lined up alongside some of the best names in the world at the World Aquatics Championships in Qatar.

“I knew there would be a lot of pressure and stress, since it’s the biggest competition for any swimmer. I did find things difficult initially, and felt completely out of place when I realised that the swimmer in the next lane was 10 years elder to me. But after competing at a few meets, it sank in that this was how it was going to be at this point of my career," she says.

When she realised that she had a genuine shot at qualifying for the Olympics, Dhinidhi simply trained harder, entered more meets and performed to her potential to rack up the points. Between 26 February and 13 June, she travelled to six competitions in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, France and Monaco. And at these meets, she notched up six personal best times in individual events.

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“More than the performance, I grew as a person and felt a lot more independent. I saw different countries and met all kinds of people, observed coaches from around the world and their style of coaching. The exposure has been quite incredible," she says.

Right before a recovery session last month, Dhinidhi received news that she had made the Olympic cut after accumulating the most points among female swimmers. Her gruelling morning routine has had more meaning ever since.

“Knowing that I am going to the Olympics makes me a little bit happier to come to the pool these days because nobody really wants to train that early!" she says.

Over the last few weeks, Dhinidhi has experienced nerves and excitement in equal measure. While she’s gone around asking her mentors what she can expect at the Olympics, she’s clear on learning as much as she can from the experience.

“Thinking about the timing is just raising expectations, which in turn creates a lot of pressure. So the aim is to just execute my race as well as I can, without making any mistakes. That’s all that matters because you cannot really give more than your 100%," she says.

Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based journalist.

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