Published By: Admin

The Tale of Indian Para Swimmers Conquering the English Channel

Jiya created history in 2022 by swimming across the Palk Strait

The English Channel and Indian para swimmers have always shared a special relationship. This morning, Indians woke up to the news of 16-year-old Jiya Rai, a para swimmer with autism spectrum disorder, who conquered the English channel. 

Starting from Abbot's Cliff on the coast of England and finishing at Pointe de la Courte-Dune in France in 17 hours and 25 minutes, covering a distance of 34-kilometre, Rai became the fastest and the youngest para swimmer to complete the daunting task.

Two years ago, Jiya created another history  by swimming across the Palk Strait and participating in the 1,100-kilometre relay from Mumbai to Goa. Her fearless achievements have earned her a name in the Asian and India Book of Records. 

The recently received news gives us an opportune moment to recall the time when another Indian para swimmer became the first Asian to cross the English Channel. 

Satendra Singh Lohiya

On June 24, 2018, Satendra Singh Lohiya made history by swimming across the English Channel as part of the relay team, which included four para swimmers from India for the first time: Chetan Raut (Maharashtra), Rimo Saha (Bengal), and Jagdish Chandra (Rajasthan). He successfully completed the swim in 12 hours and 26 minutes. 

Lohiya's success earned him numerous awards such as the 2019 Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award, the Vikram Award (highest state sports honorary of Madhya Pradesh) and also the Padma Shri award, one of the top civilian awards given to the citizens of India. 

Lohiya’s notable achievements  

In November 2022, at the XXII National Paralympic Swimming Championship held in Guwahati, Assam, Lohiya clinched one gold and one silver. In 2022, he also swam with a six-member relay team to cover the 36-kilometre North Channel in Northern Ireland, for which the team was awarded two silver medals at the XXI National Paralympic Swimming Championship held in Udaipur.

Some of Lohiya's other accomplishments include touching Catalina Island with the help of the Indian para relay team, which had a record time of 11 hours and 34 minutes in 2019. Lohiya also grabbed medals across competitions such as the XVII National Paralympic Swimming Championship, State Open Championship etc. 

Shifting focus back on Jiya Rai, the 16-year-old is on the mission to become the  world's first and youngest para swimmer to swim the seven oceans of the world. Her exploits may be new to those who are not well-versed with swimming in the world of sports but Jiya’s name is known to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who praised her during his ‘Mann ki Baat’ episode aired on February 18, 2021.