The cool blue waters of the swimming pools in the SportsAuthority of Goa (SAG) complex at Campal, have metaphorically been the steppingblock for many to take swimming seriously. One such 13-year-old of ShardaMandir School went on to represent his school and state to bring home thebronze at the 58th National School Games that were held in Pune from November21-25, this year. Taran Mukherjee clinched the bronze medal for his 50m breaststroke in the under 14 category at the aforementioned national games that wereorganised by the School Games Federation of India.
The selection for the National School Games was done by thestate and the swimming kits were provided by the Directorate of Sports. “Therewere over 1000 people at the sports complex in Pune which was built for theCommonwealth Youth Games,” says Taran’s father Dr Pranab Mukhopadhyay.
“There has not been a medal in the boys’ category for over10 years,” says his mother Dr Shaila De Souza, giving a look of affection inthe direction of her son as he practiced with coach Deepak Chhetry and theother children in the swimming pool at SAG. “He has won several medals for freestyle but breast stroke has remained his favourite. This national he qualifiedfor all three events that he took part,” she continues. Taran has participatedin five national games so far and this bronze has been his first nationalmedal.
Taran and his younger sister practice every day, six days aweek, from 6am to 7 am and from 4 pm to 7.30 pm. “The sport has made themdedicated and disciplined,” says their mother. Homework is done after schoolhours and assignments on Sundays or after the evening training sessions.
With no parental lineage in swimming, Taran was admitted toswimming classes with the sole purpose of revving up his appetite. “Taran was apoor eater, before he turned 6. We enrolled him for private swimming lessonsand after he was six years old he began swimming at SAG,” says his mother.Well, the water sure did whet his appetite not just for food but for shinningat all games. Taran also plays football and tennis, albeit not forcompetitions.
An avid reader and a music lover, he loves wildlife andmountaineering too. When he was about 8, Taran trekked for nine days with hisfather to Zongri, the only place where Kanchenjunga can be viewed.
His coach Chhetry says that he would like to see Taran as asenior national, which is the ultimate aim of all coaches.
