Vikram Khade is a hard taskmaster. When his heartbroken son Virdhawal called him from Guangzhou on Monday after missing the bronze medal by a whisker, Khade senior offered no words of comfort but ordered: Udhya gold pahije (win gold tomorrow).
Certainly, Virdhawal is no crybaby either. On Tuesday, he ensured that his father would walk around his hometown of Kolhapur a proud man.
Though Virdhawal didn't clinch gold, he became the first Indian in 24 years to win a swimming medal at the Asian Games by wrapping the bronze in 50m butterfly with a time of 24.31 seconds. India's last swimming medal at the games was a silver, won by Khazan Singh way back in 1986. The 19-year-old Khade's personal best of 24.25 seconds was recorded at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune in 2008.
On Monday, Khade missed out on a medal in the 50m freestyle by just 0.03 seconds. Instead of sulking, the Maharashtra boy took the setback on his chin and focused all his energies on avenging his defeat.
Khade is touted to be the best thing to have happened to Indian swimming and he has set his sights higher.
"Winning at the Olympics is the epitome of a swimmer's career and if not 2012, I am confident of winning a medal in 2016," he said.
Khade revealed he started swimming at the age of four and a half when he joined a vacation camp in Kolhapur.
He's thrilled about his achievement but the lack of recognition and support for the swimmers back home in India can be demoralizing, he admitted.
"It's a breakthrough in Indian swimming but it will depend on what sort of support I will get," Khade said.
"Swimming doesn't have the support like cricket. Financial security is important and if I make big money in swimming then I will continue because I need my family also," he said. All the serious talk can wait. As for now, it's time to celebrate the feat. Surely, a grand welcome awaits Khade in his hometown.
- Daily News & Analysis (INDIA)
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