Published: Aug 31, 2022, 12:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2022, 12:52 PM (IST)
New Delhi: India’s success in the Commonwealth Games 2022 has paved the growth for sports in the country. Going parallel with that, Indian women in sports are taking the competition to a whole new level and Maana Patel is one of them. Maana was the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2022. She represented India in women’s 100m backstroke on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Though she didn’t get a podium finish in the event but qualifying in itself was an achievement. She learnt a lot of things that will eventually help her to become a world-class swimmer.
“Olympics was my first major international tournament. So you need a very different mindset. The reason why I messed up my race was that I got too nervous on the day when I had to perform. So one thing that everyone asked me was what’s that one thing you took back from the Olympics and always my answer was the change of mindset. Like you know the attention you get, people and media everyone is talking, so I learnt how to shut that off and focus on myself. You know, it takes you a level higher when you deal with the pressure and expectations and still stay calm and focused and not mess up your race. So I think I learnt that and I think that will stay with me for now and later on as well,” Maana said in an exclusive interview with Cricket Country.
She also spoke about the kind of facilities female swimmers are getting in the Swimming Federation of India.
“In a sport like swimming, where women are always in a swimming costume, 99% of coaches in India are male and all other staffs are also male but till date I have never felt uncomfortable. It’s never been like that with me. Everyone treated me and other swimmers with respect and kept their dignity intact. So that way I am blessed. The swimming federation is very proactive about sexual harassment and all. Till now we haven’t come across a case about this. They used to do this kind of survey like they call the female athletes and they ask if we feel safe in the environment or if anything is bothering us. So they are very proactive in terms of the safety of the female athletes which is good and I haven’t come across any incident like that with myself,” she stated.
The youngster shared her experience from Mare Nostrum Meet 2022 where she broke her national record and registered a new record in the women’s 100m backstrokes with an effort of 1:03:69. She mentioned the problems she faced before reaching Canet where she achieved the new record.
“Honestly, I was travelling for 3 weeks at that time when I was racing at the Mare Nostrum series and Mare Nostrum was split into three parts. It starts in Monaco, then 2 days break. Barcelona again you get 2 days break before we go to Canet. So we started up with Monaco’s leg where I didn’t perform well because I took this supplement before my race, I took salt tablets before my race on empty stomach. I didn’t discuss that with my nutritionist to not take it on empty stomach. So I took this just 5 minutes before my race and I was throwing up because the pressure increased and so that race didn’t go well at all,” Patel revealed.
“Honestly, when we went to Mare Nostrum, I was in a very good state physically and mentally like I never trained so hard before. So we were confident and when this incident happened I was broken. We didn’t do Barcelona so we had a week-long break between Monaco and Canet. I was telling my mom that I want to retire, I don’t wanna swim in Canet, I am not performing. So basically I stopped thinking about my race when I had to swim in Canet that was my last chance to perform. So I didn’t think about my race and I went with an open mind without any expectations from myself and I think that’s why I ended up with my best. So I was quite happy after that sad incident to come back home with the best time and the new record,” she revealed.
The 22-years-old swimmer started swimming at an early age of 7. Born in a Gujarati family, sports isn’t ever the first career option. While talking about her initial journey, Maana said, “I come from a Gujrati family, Dhokla eating family and sports is not something that comes into Gujju family’s mind if you talk about career and future and all that. As a kid, I was quite lanky and my appetite was very poor. So the reason why I started swimming was this. And my mom thought that if I swim at least I will come out and eat properly,” said the 22-year-old.
“Like I was a hyper kid. I mean forget eating, and sleeping because I wanted to play all the time. So that’s why she put me in the summer batch in 2007 when I was 7 years old. And then my appetite improved and I was enjoying it at the same time, so it was a win-win for both of us. So later on I continued and I started winning club-level competitions, inter-clubs all of that. So a lot of people thought that I like swimming and I am natural. That’s when in 2010 we shifted to Gujarat Vidyapeeth where the famous coach Nanavati used to train us. So that’s when I started my competitive training,” she concluded.
Maana is associated with ENGN, which manages and encourages female sports persons in India. She will be seen playing next in seniors nationals in Guwahati from 6th to 10th September and national games in her home state from 30th September to 6th October.
