Spearheaded by Wing Commander Paramvir Singh, the IAF became the first armed forces team to successfully swim the English Channel.
Flight Lieutenant Narayanpethkar, Corporal A.K. Patel and Corporal S. Srihari were the other members of the team.
The team successfully crossed the English Channel in 12 hours 14 minutes to emerge as the fastest Asian team in their category. The team had prepared for the last one year and had successfully crossed the channel from Rewas to Gateway of India, Mumbai in February as a part of a training programme and were practicing at Dover in England since the beginning of June 2012.
“It was in the wee hours (0315 GMT) of June 26, 2012, that the team entered the waters at Shakespeare Beach, Dover, and reached Cap Griz Nez, France at 1529 GMT by relay swimming,” a release said.