Hashika Ramachandra is making swimming against the tide a habit

Competing in a field that had Olympians and multiple national and international medallists, Hashika Ramachandra stamped her name in bold letters at the 36th National Games that concluded last week in Gujarat.

The 14-year-old swimmer from Karnataka made everyone take notice of her talent by clinching six golds and one bronze besides setting new meet records in four of them.

Hashika’s big haul in the pool saw her being adjudged the best female athlete, a first for Karnataka in 23 years. Nisha Millet was the last winner from the state, having swept medals in the 1999 National Games in Imphal.

“This was my first National Games so it makes it all the more special,” expressed Hashika. “I’m overjoyed right now, but also aware that there are bigger goals to chase. There is still a lot more work to do,” she added.

When the attention was mostly on the other competitors, her coach Madhukumar said that Hashika displayed a sense of calm and maturity beyond her age -- perhaps learnt from the tough lessons life has thrown at her -- to hog the limelight.

After losing her father, Ramachandra, an assistant engineer at the Karnataka rural development department, to pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer in 2017, Hashika channelled her emotions in a positive manner, said her mother Latha MB.

“We found out in the final stage, eight months before he passed. The impact was huge on Hashika but I’m proud of how she handled the situation and her determination to excel thereafter,” said Latha, a home-maker.

The mother-daughter duo has since then teamed-up to overcome challenges together.

“I had to sell a part the property my husband had made to support her swimming dreams. But none of this would have been possible without the help of Dolphin Acquatics' Nihar (Ameen) sir, Madhu sir and their entire team,” added Latha, who hopes her daughter's achievement will help attract sponsors.

The grade nine student who shifted to open schooling from this academic year was enrolled for swimming classes as a four-year-old by her mother, who worried about her child’s weight gain at an early age.

After six years of training at the KLE swimming pool in Nagarbhavi, Hashika moved to the Dolphin and now trains under coach Madhukumar and guided by head coach Ameen.

“She surpassed all of our expectations with her dominating show. The best athlete title was an icing on the cake,” said Madhu.

With an ever-growing urge to learn and improve, Hashika has set her eyes firmly on future goals in the sport. “It is time for some recovery till the end of the year as I have raced a lot this season. Apart from all the events lined-up next year, making it to the Asian Games squad will be my biggest target,” signed-off Hashika.