A couple that swims together, stays together

Jakarta: India's Virdhawal Vikram Khade reacts after win Men's 50m freestyle heat event at the Asian Games 2018, in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. Credit: PTI Photo

The swimming pool at the Khar Gymkhana has surely played host to a fair few love stories in its time, quaint confines and all. But the most telling story of the lot has to be one involving Virdhawal Khade and Rujuta Bhatt.

Virdhawal, originally from Kohlapur, had moved to Mumbai in 2012 and was beginning to carve a name for himself as one of the best male swimmers in the country. Rujuta was quickly getting there in the women’s category.

But 2015 changed the course of their lives for they met - reticently no doubt - and it was something akin to love at first sight. It wouldn’t be long before Rujuta asked Virdhawal out. A couple of years of dating, swimming and life later, Virdhawal asked Rujuta for her hand in marriage and the ceremony was observed in 2017.

At the time, though, the fastest swimming couple in India wasn’t feeling too fast.

“We were swimming recreationally,” says Virdhawal. “I think we were a bit tired, jaded by swimming so we said to ourselves that we would give it a break and enjoy our lives. During this time, we realised that our relationship does not depend on swimming.

“That’s why when she had the injury a few years later, it wasn’t so hard on us because we weren’t tied to swimming. I think, if you force it, you will start hating what you love. You cannot go overboard with passion, and if you make your life entirely about one thing, you will get bored.”

With wisdom in tow, the Khades navigated the pandemic rather matter-of-factly. In fact, Virdhawal even considered retiring from the sport for there weren’t pools available to train, and the Asian Games were put off.

“The main trigger for me (for retiring momentarily) was the Asian games being postponed,” says Virdhawal. “So, I decided to step away from the sport in 2020 for a bit because I didn’t have a big goal in front of me.”

While Virdhawal battled a to-be-or-not-to-be moment with his toes in the water, Rujuta was in bed unable to move, she had four disc bulges and scoliosis. The Olympian was overawed but kept it together for the sake of her sanity, and his to a degree.

“You know sometimes I have to hold her back because of her back, and the fact is, this will never go away, bulges and scoliosis will never leave. All she can do is pain management and posture correction, maybe,” he says.

“Even now, after a couple of hard weeks of training, she has to take a couple of days off,” he adds.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, Rujuta, with her unstable back and such, broke a 20-year-old national record in the 50m freestyle category. The 27-year-old shattered Shikha Tandon’s mark of 26.61s with a time of 26.47s.

In the same event, Virdhawal won the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly events and qualified for the upcoming Asian Fames. Rujuta didn’t, but the Khades don’t seem to worry about these things much.

“I still think I am the more competitive one,” chuckles Khade. “She’s very chilled out. I think it’s because of her upbringing.”

On the topic of upbringing, Virdhawal opens up about his father’s hand in his success, and how he was pushed to win a medal each time he arrived at a pool. But he insists, he isn’t as wired as he was before.

“One of the reasons why I have been able to do this for so long is because I didn’t make it only about swimming. I used to love competing, and I still do, but it’s not so serious anymore. We just like to live our life in balance,” he says.

In that vein, Virdhawal reveals that the next year will be his final year of swimming, and he intends to start coaching full-time. Rujuta’s journey is still uncertain, but the couple that swims together stays together, or so reckons Khade.

“It’s very easy when you and your partner are doing the same things. When she’s slipping, I help and when I’m slipping she helps. That’s so big when you’re an athlete. She is my education, and I hers," he laughs.