New Delhi, Nov 8 India’s first male swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympic Games, Tirthank Pegu said he now aims to translate his success at the junior level into strong performances in the senior circuit following his bronze medal-winning show in Dakar.
Pegu clinched bronze in the men’s 200m butterfly event, clocking 2:01.25 to script history by becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympics.
“It was a dream that I would get a medal at the junior level on the world stage; I am really grateful that I achieved it. Now my junior years are over; now I am planning to do well in the seniors also,” Pegu told PTI after returning home on Sunday.
The swimmer admitted that he was nervous before the final but said the strategy discussed with his coach Sandeep helped him approach the race with confidence.
“I was a bit nervous and a bit underconfident, but after Sandeep sir told me the strategy and all, I felt really confident. I was planning only to execute that plan and nothing else,” he said.
Pegu added that the medal meant a lot to him and his team after a year of preparation for the competition.
“We worked for the whole year for this competition, so this means really a lot to me,” he said.
Hard work paid off
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For Tegu’s coach Sandeep Sejwal, the bronze medal was the result of two years of preparation, adding that the achievement would serve as a stepping stone for the swimmer as he sets his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“There was no special tactic as such. We have been preparing for this competition for the last two years, and when we won the medal, it brought a sense of relief because our two years of hard work finally paid off,” Sejwal, a former Asian Games medallist, said.
“The next big target for the entire world is LA 2028, and we are also trying to achieve our qualification as early as possible so that we can begin preparing for it.
(PTI News)
