A 16-year-old boy from Ahmedabad plans to become the first swimmer from Gujarat to cross the English Channel when he dives into the choppy waters separating France and England next month.
Sufyan Sheikh, who took to water at a tender age of three, will attempt to swim 38 km of the Channel between July 18 to 20, his father Mohsin Sheikh said.
"I am very excited about the event after Michael Oram, the secretary of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation of the UK, gave a confirmation about the dates," said Sufyan, who has just passed his 10th grade examination.
Long-distance swimming is nothing new for this teenager who has swam 81 km in the Ganga in West Bengal. "At the National Swimming Championship organised by the Murshidabad Swimming Association in West Bengal in 2004, he had completed the distance in 11 hours and 40 minutes," said Mohsin, who is a painter.
