"The success came as a sweet reward as I had trained really hard this time," said Dhital, a 10th grader at the Lincoln School, Kathmandu.[break]
Dhital´s consistent performance has ensured her rise as a prominent swimmer in the country since last four years. Despite winning several gold medals in age group tournaments, she won her first national gold (open category) in the 15th edition of National Open last year. In the recently concluded championship, she bagged six gold medals in U-17 age group and five gold medals in open category.
"My parents, basically my mom, love swimming. They are behind my success," said Dhital.
Her mom Anita is in a banking business while her father Subrat is engaged in hydropower sector.
"I love swimming and my daughter enjoyed playing with water following in my footsteps," said Anita.
Anita is happy about her daughter´s progress in both study as well as swimming. "With a 2-hour training everyday, she is doing well in swimming," said the happy mother. She expects her daughter to set some new national records and achieve success at international level.
The new swimming sensation says managing time for swimming as well as study is difficult. She, nonetheless, hopes to take the present success to another level. "I´ll try to challenge some national records in future," said Dhital.
She had participated in the 13th FINA World Championship in Rome in 2009 and she put it plainly that anything groundbreaking at the international level is still a distant dream for Nepali swimmers.
"It´s hard for us to achieve something at the international level with the current facility in the country. We lack heated pool which allows us to practice only three months in a year," said Dhital.
"With only 3-month training in a year, we can not expect better results," she added. Dhital loves law but has yet to decide about her future career. She admits pursuing swimming as a career is not viable given the present sporting scene of the country.
Related story
National Swimming competition in private swimming pool
