Indian swimmers Bharat Sachdeva, Shashwat Sharma complete one-way Ram Setu open water swimming expedition. Loktej Sports News

Dhanushkoti, 16 April (HS). With a spirit of athleticism, grit and determination, two renowned Indian swimmers, Bharat Sachdeva and Shaswat Sharma on Monday swam the challenging 32-km stretch of the Palk Strait (Ram Setu) within the stipulated time of 10 hours 30 minutes.

This extraordinary campaign by both the swimmers aims to promote adventure sports and open swimming for athletes in India, and promote universal brotherhood and friendship between the neighboring countries. Additionally, the campaign aims to raise awareness about water safety and prevention of drowning incidents.

The expedition started from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka and ended at Dhanushkoti in India. The swim was conducted under the supervision of an expert team who helped the swimmers swim and provided nutrition during the swim. An external observer also joined the team to ensure adherence to rules and regulations.

Bharat Sachdeva said in an official statement on the occasion, “This is as big as winning a medal for the country. Shashwat and I have been working towards making this dream come true for a few years, and we are glad that it has finally come true.” Our aim is to draw attention towards strong support for the sport in our country, be it the right infrastructure or investment, our efforts will be successful when we get more young talents from India to take up swimming and compete at prestigious national level. And will be seen representing the country on the international stage.”

Shaswat Sharma said, “For me, this achievement has immense spiritual and cultural significance. As a national swimmer, I have participated in many challenges, but crossing Ram Setu is a moment to make the country proud. When As we were swimming, we were filled with mixed emotions, on the one hand celebrating the spirit of universal brotherhood and on the other hand, calling on the nation to promote swimming as a major sport in the country.”

Bharat is a renowned health and wellness consultant, an international swimmer and an Ironman triathlete. As part of the high performance coaching unit with the Indian boxing team preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Bharat got the opportunity to work with MC Mary Kom, Amit Panghal, Vikas Krishna Yadav etc. and train in the areas of visualization and breathwork.

A technical architect by profession, Shaswat Sharma is a national medalist in swimming, a national waterpolo player, ultra long distance swimmer and a triathlete. He has a collection of over 500 medals and trophies with several All India records to his name. Shashwat holds the title of fastest 2km swim at Goa Swimathon 2024. He also holds the 10 km swimming title at the Delhi International Swimathon.

The swimmers had received permission from relevant authorities such as the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Ministry of Defense, Sri Lanka and other government bodies to undertake the initiative.