Puttur: A youth from Puttur town has made all Kannadigas proud by shattering records at national as well as international swimming competitions. 
Puttur, a small town in Dakshina Kannada has become a centre for swimmers and surfers today. Balavana Aquatic club members have broken several records. Vaishnav Hegde is one among them. In a recent national level competition, he set two records. He has delivered outstanding performance in international meets as well.
Few months ago, he broke the record of Sahil Chopra from Punjab in the 50m breast stroke by setting a record of 29.75 seconds (30.46 was Chopra’s record till date) at the 61st SGF National swimming championship in Kolkata. Even in the 100m breast stroke category, Vaishnav shattered Sahil Chopra’s earlier record of 1.7.55minutes with 1.7.12minutes. With this, Vaishanav emerged as the first swimmer from Dakshina Kannada to achieve it. Besides, he has also won a gold medal in the medley relay.
Journey as a swimmer
He began his swimming career at the age of 14 and went on to grab medals at the State level in 50m breast stroke. In October 2015, he represented Karnataka and won bronze at the 69th Open National Senior swimming competition in Rajkot. In Olympics, he stood 6th in 100m breast stroke. He also got selected for World School of Games in Poland after he secured the second place at the School of Games. He has also performed well at the international swimming competition at the International level School of Games. Presently, he is pursuing his graduation at St Philomena College, Puttur.
Balavana, Vaishnav’s support
Balavana swimming pool in Parladka has been the ultimate support for all of Vaishnav’s accomplishments. He is trained by international swimmers like Partha Varanasi, Vasanth Kumar, Nirup and team. He began training rigorously from August 2012 and the hardwork and dedication has made him a man of records in a very short span. His practice session lasts everyday 6 to 8 hours. He is involved in Yoga, meditation and gym as well. He follows a particular diet too. For example, he has stopped eating sweets from the last 6 months, as physical fitness is very essential for a swimmer.
His trainer Partha Varanasi, says, “Vaishnav is talented. His dedication, hardwork and well maintained fitness has enabled him to achieve in an extraordinary manner. There will be many more talents emerging out of Balavana and they will represent the country in Olympics too.”
