Agni contines hot streak

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Tamil Nadu’s swimming sensation J. Agnishwar has been in great form of late. The 21-year-old produced a commendable show at the world cup held in Dubai last month.

Agni created a record of sorts in the desert city by becoming the first Indian to qualify in the finals of all the five events he had entered. The tall swimmer was in great touch during the breaststroke event – a category he specialises.

In the 100m and 200m breaststroke final, he garnered fifth-place finishes with timings of 1.03.25s and 2.20s respectively.

For Agni, it was a worthy outing as he was vying against leading athletes from around the world. “It was a tough competition. But I am happy with my performances.

In the 200m breaststroke final, swimmers from Germany, Russia and the USA secured the top three spots.

But it wasn’t a yawning gap between me and these guys. I will overtake them in due course,” said Agni. “These performances will definitely motivate me further and help in bringing laurels to our country.”

Agni, studying third year mechanical engineering in RMK Engineering College, carried his international momentum to collect a heap of medals in the state championship held in the city last week.

Turning out for Turtles Swim Club, Agni bagged eight gold medals to set the pool on fire. “Of these eight victories, seven were new state records.

Also, this was our club’s fourth championship in a row,” noted Agni. The Turtles Swim Club, who dominated the state championship, nailed both the men’s and women’s team championship. Agni’s teammate Jayaveena won the women’s title with three gold medals.

Agni had flown to North Carolina to train under Chris Webb in March this year. Speaking about his recent international coaching stint, Agni said: “Those six months of training went well.

The exposure will help me in future.” The youngster had learnt the nuances of swimming from Basabangudi Aquatic Centre. He then went on to train under Randy Reese in Texas for two years which he summed up as thoroughly beneficial to his climb.

During the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year, Agni came extremely close to qualify for the 50m breaststroke final. “I wouldn’t say CWG was a failure for me. I swam well to get into the semis and finished ninth overall. I missed out on the final berth by one spot,” he explained.

On the all-important 2012 London Olympics qualification mark, Agni added: “I will be participating in a series of circuit meets in the US from December. I am hopeful of nailing the qualifying timing for Olympics. At present, the gap between the international swimmers and me is not much and I will work hard towards achieving the Olympics goal.”

Agni thanked his family and teachers for their undying support throughout. “My family has always been supportive. I have inherited the fighting skills from my mother. I thank all my teachers who have helped me with my academics,” said Agni.