Eight-year-old Saira Sirohi took to the pool at 5 am on Tuesday and had been swimming non-stop for over 15 hours hence. She wants to create ripples by taking on a never-before challenge.
By 8 pm on Tuesday, Saira had covered a distance of 35 kilometre in her school pool. Daring or dangerous for a child that young?
Even as her parents, teachers, coach and classmates cheered her on, nobody was quite sure what record the Dehradun Public School student was aiming to break. “She is determined to swim continuously for more than 40 km and break a record set by nine-year-old Mahima Attreya” said said Saira’s mother Suman.
Pushing a child to the limit for an unknown record hasn’t found favour with the swimming community, though. Asian Games silver medallist Khazan Singh is incredulous. “40 hours in a day is incredible. Even when I was training for the Olympics, I never swam more than five hours day, that too in two shifts. Even the distance I covered was never more than 20 kilometre.”
Remember marathon boy Budhia? Doctors say Saira’s attempt may damage her health irreparably. Dr RS Chatterjee, head, Pulmonology, Rockland Hospital said the exhaustion could lead to a fall in blood glucose levels, lowering of body temperature and dehydration. “All these affect the heart, lungs and liver.”
{{/usCountry}}Remember marathon boy Budhia? Doctors say Saira’s attempt may damage her health irreparably. Dr RS Chatterjee, head, Pulmonology, Rockland Hospital said the exhaustion could lead to a fall in blood glucose levels, lowering of body temperature and dehydration. “All these affect the heart, lungs and liver.”
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