"Never satisfied": 3 golds later, 14-year-old swimmer Ridhima resolves to make bigger splashes

Making big splashes in the pool, 14-year-old Ridhima Veerendra Kumar had a golden run at the South Africa National Swimming Championships 2022 where the youngster finished on top of the podium in three events and made heads turn.

The lanky teenager from Bengaluru was on a mission of her own as she swept gold in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke and the 800m freestyle events - but none of these exploits seems to put Ridhima on cloud nine, she rather remains calm and composed, focussed on the future instead.

Impatiently waiting for her delayed flight to Johannesburg and onwards to India, Ridhima, along with coach Jayarajan and her mother, Sunita spoke to The Bridge from the airport itself, their voices in a mixed medley of joy.

"Winning medals at the National level is a different thing but winning on the international sphere, golds that too, is a whole new experience for me," an overwhelmed but grounded Ridhima conveys, the excitement still very much ringing in her voice.

"But truth be told, I never feel satisfied with any of these wins, I know there is a lot to be done and I need to improve a lot as well," she quips, astonishingly mature for a teenager.

Ridhima isn't unfamiliar with winning golds and her memorable outing at the 2021 junior and senior National Aquatic Championships where she won a whopping 14 gold medals (8 individual) and one silver from both the events stands proof of that - but the high of winning internationally is one that clicks differently.

"This is a huge thing and we are extremely happy but we aren't letting the success get to our head because there is so much more to be done, we'd rather stay grounded," Ridhima's mother, Sunita resolves.

For coach Jayarajan, who would also train Tokyo Olympian swimmer Srihari Nataraj before his stint at the Games, the performance of Ridhima and co. at the South Africa National Swimming Championships have been a bit of a revelation.

"Ridhima is extremely talented, she has what it takes to be India's next top swimmer if she continues the hard work," the coach mentions, quietly confident of the pupil.

"Overall, we had 16 swimmers at the event and all of them did well, I'm extremely happy. We arrived nearly a month ago and got a lot of good practice with the local swimmers that helped," Jayarajan gushes.

"For Ridhima, her best performance came in the 200 m backstroke where she even clocked her personal best 02:20.33 in the U-14 girls' section."

"Aneesh Gowda also did well and clinched the gold with another personal best timing of 08:14:45 in the 800 m freestyle seniors event," Jayarajan reflected, his mind also beginning to stretch to the upcoming competitions instead of dwelling too long on the medal loot from South Africa that account for 11 wins with Vritti Agarwala, Nina Venkatesh and Utkarsh Patil doing their bit too.

Swimming towards glory

For Ridhima as well, the emotions are the same and it'll be difficult to term her as just-another-14-year-old with the kind of confidence that she displays for her age.

"Ridhima was just 7 when she took up swimming and it was entirely her call to take it up actually," Sunita recalls, a restrained pride seeping into her voice.

"With swimming, it has always been Ridhima on her own. She is the one who'd get ready before me and get impatient to go to the pool."

"Unless she is really sick and something is extremely wrong, only then does she skip practice otherwise she is the one ready to go, she has always been such a water baby," her mother mentions with a laugh.

It would be unfair to say swimming flows in the blood of the Kumar's but sportiness definitely runs in the genes with Ridhima's father having been a national level volleyball player while her brother, Pratik, too is a national level volleyball player.

"Ridhima came across the SAI pool when she'd tag along with her brother for the practices. She started off swimming there but soon that pool was closed and she shifted to the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre (BAC) when she was all of 8 - that marked the start of her love affair with swimming," Sunita, all smiles, reveals.

Initially trained by Head Age Group Coach, V. Padmanabha Rao, she was soon spotted by him for her talent and later taken under the wing of John Christopher.

Juggling academics while pursuing her swimming career, Ridhima is quite an able multi-tasker and doesn't shy away from challenges.

"Her school - DPS, has been super supportive with both Principal and the teachers stepping in to help her in any way possible, so that made me think if the coaches and the school are doing so much to help her, how can I as a parent also do my part for my daughter," Sunita recalls having reasoned with herself.

"And so far, the journey has been surreal but there is a long road ahead now," she mentions.

With schools also set to reopen, Ridhima will have to juggle and manage her time better now too.

"It'll be hectic for sure but that's okay, Ridhima would do this routine previously as well and she could manage just fine. She would start her swimming practice at 5:30 in the morning, wrap it up and then head for school," Sunita mentions, confident about her daughter's juggling skills.

But will there be any brief respite after Ridhima's flight's wheel touches the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru? Nope, not as much as one could hope for.

"I'll start with my training as soon as I come back to India. There is so much more to be done. The South Africa outing has only shown me what all I need to do to step up and get better," Ridhima, exuding surprising maturity, mentions.

The teenager's mind has already moved ahead and is busy thinking about the upcoming Khelo India Games and the Commonwealth Games qualifiers where she hopes to make the cut and set herself up for a debut. The closer you listen, there is also something about the conviction in her voice that tells you that this youngster is here to make bigger splashes - this is only the beginning, with newer horizons and newer waters awaiting to be conquered.