Nandan Naik Makes History by Winning Gold at State Diving Championship | Mangaluru News
MANGALURU: Nandan Naik, 17, representing Varanashi Swimming Academy (VSA), Adyanadka, created history by winning the first gold medal in diving for the district. According to a release from VSA, Nandan, a first-year BSc student from St. Philomena College, Puttur, won a gold medal, clocking 243.95 points in the three-metre springboard event in the junior category at the Sub Junior and Junior State Diving Championship conducted by the Karnataka Swimming Association at the Kensington Pool, Bengaluru, between July 26 and 27. He also won a silver medal in the 10-metre platform diving event, scoring 136 points.Nandan’s talent was recognised and mentored by Coach Partha Varanashi, Director of VSA. He was training under Coach Venktesh in Bengaluru and Coach Vikas in Puttur and Adyanadka. Nandan began swimming at the age of eight, training at the Balavana Swimming Pool in Puttur. As part of a multi-sport approach to enhance his swimming, he also took up parkour and acrobatics under Coach Partha. Over time, his passion for acrobatics took precedence. Self-taught through YouTube tutorials, Nandan honed his skills to the point where, at 16, he impressed Hollywood screenplay writer Peter Baynham with his trampoline stunts.Partha said, recognising his potential, they believed diving was his true calling. However, with no diving coaches in Dakshina Kannada and the Mangala Corporation’s diving facility shut down for safety reasons, opportunities were limited, he said. Nandan’s breakthrough came when he began training at Varanashi Farms under Coach Vikas, a former diver and swim instructor, who introduced him to the basics of diving. Later, he received periodic guidance from diving coach Venkatesh in Bengaluru. “Despite only two years of sporadic training, Nandan triumphed in the 3-metre springboard event with a 2.5 backward flip—securing gold and marking a milestone for the district,” said Partha.Nandan has qualified for the junior Nationals Diving Championship to be held Bengaluru.
