No age bar to fulfil your dream
She literally came down from the sky to the sea! Thirty-eight-year-old Delhi-based homemaker Archana Sardana, who has been a pro at skydiving, base jumping and mountaineering, recently created history in deep sea diving by becoming the first Indian woman to make the grade of Master Scuba Diving Trainer (MSDT) in Phuket, Thailand — a qualification that is certified by the (PADI) Professional Assoc-iation of Diving Instructors, USA.
Archana, who is also the first Indian woman to have unfurled the Indian flag in a depth of 18 metres, off Neil Island, Port Blair, India, was a non-swimmer till last year. She says, “Water was the only element left since I was already a trained mountaineer, skydiver and base jumper. So along with my two boys aged eight and 10, I learnt how to swim and thereafter went on to achieve milestones in scuba diving.”
To reach this level, Archana had to go through a rigorous training process in open water diving, advanced open water diving, search and rescue diving and dive master, after which she sat for the Instructor Examination. She says that training was tough but she enjoyed it.
Archana took up an adventure sport at an age when not many women think of pursuing such activities.
She believes that she has just been fortunate, not different. “I am not different to other Indian women. The Indian woman is adventurous and courageous by nature. I am just leading the way to create opportunities for those not yet exposed to these sports,” she quips.
Talking about the training programme that she is slated to conduct with the kids she says, “I am training school children especially girls above eight years to learn scuba diving. This will make them fearless in the water, before they go on to conquer the mountains and the air!”
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