Humans of Olympics: After Aditi Ashok at Rio 2016, another Bengaluru teenager, Dhinidhi, gets a taste of Olympics
Dhinidhi Desinghu, 14, teenage swimmer who represented India at the Olympics.
The only teenager in the Indian contingent to the Rio Olympics was the Bengaluru golfer Aditi Ashok. At the Paris edition of the summer games, the only teenager in the Indian contingent is once again from Bengaluru and she is even younger at just 14 years of age — the swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu. The youngest swimmer in fray in these games, Desinghu represented India in the 200m freestyle event finishing 23rd out of a total 31 competitors with a time of 2:06.96, which is not her personal best.
With the Olympic Village rules requiring athletes to leave the official lodgings two days after their journey in Paris 2024 ends, she is no longer with the Indian contingent but she was kicked to be swimming with some of the best water bodies in the world.
“Just getting a chance to be here with all these amazing athletes is such an amazing opportunity. I am just really happy I got a chance to be swimming at such an amazing venue at the Olympics. So, despite the time, it was good,” she told the World Aquatics website.
Also Read: Catch HT's comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics here
For someone who used to throw up out of nervousness before a competition, she has an impressive record at the national level and has also represented India at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou as well as the World Aquatics Championships in Doha earlier this year in the run-up to the Olympics.
After completing her events, Desinghu attended a meet and greet at India House -the nation’s first Olympics hospitality house - for a meet and greet with the fans. The teenager was pretty popular among the audience owing to her age and slightly shy demeanour in front of all the cameras and the crowds.