<p>Dinesh Soundappa broke the national freediving record in the men’s category on March 4 at the San Antonio Beach in Calapan, Philippines. The 33-year-old completed a dive of 34.6 mtr. The previous record of 24.8 mtr was held by Geo Joe Arakkal, who achieved it on January 11, 2025, in the Maldives.</p><p>Soundappa, now a free diving coach and part-time real estate developer, trained for three years with Freediving Coaches of Asia (FCOA) and the Australian company Freediving Family, before achieving the feat. </p><p>Freediving is a water sport in which divers hold their breath and use physical and mental techniques to descend underwater, often beyond 40 metres.</p>.Thane’s seven-year-old makes world record with 30 km Arabian Sea swim.<p>He discovered freediving after a snorkelling trip in the Maldives in 2021, which ignited his passion for the underwater world.</p><p>“I attended a one-week freediving retreat in Thailand,” Soundappa shares, adding, “Beyond the physical aspect, I discovered its profound mental health benefits.” After the course, he returned to the country and did dynamic exercises in pools to train for freediving, and then went to train under the coach and founder of FCOA, Jeroen Elout, in December 2025.</p><p>The major setback that Soundappa faced was the lack of locations across India. “There are not many places to go freediving. Quarries, while a good option, are not open to the public, and once I was even asked to leave after I tried to dive into a well,” the IIM Bengaluru alumnus says. </p><p><strong>Accidental record</strong></p><p>Elout taught him a minimalist diving philosophy focused on safety and self-<br>reliance. The IIT Madras graduate quickly started progressing beyond his personal best (PB) of 15 mtr. He hit 25 mtr in his very first VWT (Variable Weight) dive, which surpassed the previous national record of 24.8 mtr. It was then that Elout encouraged Soundappa to check the national record. “To officially break a record in freediving, it needs to be filmed for the judges to verify, so even though I had technically broken the record, it was not official,” Soundappa shares. He dived again on February 26, the very next day, where it was filmed and verified, and set the national record at 31.5 mtr.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On his last day in the Philippines, with his wisdom tooth ruptured, and hours before his flight back to India, Soundappa dived again. This one felt easy and experimental, and only later did he realise he had broken the national record for the second time. </p>
<p>Dinesh Soundappa broke the national freediving record in the men’s category on March 4 at the San Antonio Beach in Calapan, Philippines. The 33-year-old completed a dive of 34.6 mtr. The previous record of 24.8 mtr was held by Geo Joe Arakkal, who achieved it on January 11, 2025, in the Maldives.</p><p>Soundappa, now a free diving coach and part-time real estate developer, trained for three years with Freediving Coaches of Asia (FCOA) and the Australian company Freediving Family, before achieving the feat. </p><p>Freediving is a water sport in which divers hold their breath and use physical and mental techniques to descend underwater, often beyond 40 metres.</p>.Thane’s seven-year-old makes world record with 30 km Arabian Sea swim.<p>He discovered freediving after a snorkelling trip in the Maldives in 2021, which ignited his passion for the underwater world.</p><p>“I attended a one-week freediving retreat in Thailand,” Soundappa shares, adding, “Beyond the physical aspect, I discovered its profound mental health benefits.” After the course, he returned to the country and did dynamic exercises in pools to train for freediving, and then went to train under the coach and founder of FCOA, Jeroen Elout, in December 2025.</p><p>The major setback that Soundappa faced was the lack of locations across India. “There are not many places to go freediving. Quarries, while a good option, are not open to the public, and once I was even asked to leave after I tried to dive into a well,” the IIM Bengaluru alumnus says. </p><p><strong>Accidental record</strong></p><p>Elout taught him a minimalist diving philosophy focused on safety and self-<br>reliance. The IIT Madras graduate quickly started progressing beyond his personal best (PB) of 15 mtr. He hit 25 mtr in his very first VWT (Variable Weight) dive, which surpassed the previous national record of 24.8 mtr. It was then that Elout encouraged Soundappa to check the national record. “To officially break a record in freediving, it needs to be filmed for the judges to verify, so even though I had technically broken the record, it was not official,” Soundappa shares. He dived again on February 26, the very next day, where it was filmed and verified, and set the national record at 31.5 mtr.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On his last day in the Philippines, with his wisdom tooth ruptured, and hours before his flight back to India, Soundappa dived again. This one felt easy and experimental, and only later did he realise he had broken the national record for the second time. </p>