They rode high on the wave of success in the recently concluded First South Asian Swimming Championship at Islamabad. Now, Vandita Dhariyal and Parita Parekh of Ahmedabad are all set to take over the pool at the Senior National Championship from September 19 to 23 to be held at Goa.
Parita who has been in the circuit for quite sometime now has brought laurels at regular intervals at the international arena. Meanwhile, Vandita had her first outing in an international event recently.
Speaking about their experience during the First South Asian Swimming Championship, Parita said, “This was my eighth international event, so there wasn’t much of difference. I have already competed against many of them earlier so I knew most of them. They were good but were better.”
Supporting her teammate, Vandita said, “There wasn’t much competition. This was my first international competition and I wasn't expecting much. It’s always a good opportunity to prove yourself when you have competition.”
The senior teammate was all on praise for the youngster. “She was really good and did extremely well,” Parita said of Vandita splashing some water over the junior's face.
Their coach, Kamlesh Nanavati, said, “The competition was good, and our players performed well. There were different pools for boys and girls there.”
Both Parita and Vandita won gold in the 4X100 m freestyle relay and also bagged silver medal in the 50 m free style and 50 m butterfly stroke respectively.
Consistent performance from the little wonders notwithstanding, Parita doesn't want to take up swimming as a profession. Vandita, however, is all set to do so.
“I took up swimming when I was six-years-old as my mother was a state level swimmer from Maharahstra. I will not make swimming my profession, as there is no future of this sport in India. I enjoy swimming; it might become my second profession or may be I might do it to keep myself fit,” Parita, a student of class XI, said.
Supporting Parita was Vandita’s father Yogesh Dhariyal who owns a chemical factory. “I would definitely want my daughter to take up swimming as a profession as she has been producing results and enjoys the sport as well. But then, where are the jobs? The central government should give more relaxation to players who have performed well in the international level.”
At present, both Vandita and Parita are practising hard at the Gujarat Vidyapeeth for the upcoming Senior National Championship.