Prasanta Swims to 4 Golds at IWAS Games

prasanthaprofile

A sportsman is born to achieve his goal & defies every law to achieve it.. even the very law of nature. iSport Special brings to you, Prasanta Karmakar an amputee swimmer, who challenged himself and emerged a winner in Swimming!

Swimming as a sport has gained excellent momentum in the last decade or so- first with the exploits of Ian Thorpe, followed by Michael Phelps and of course not to mention the tumbling of records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

However, India lacks quality swimmers and the only name that does the rounds of media during world-class events is that of Virdhawal Khade. But it seems that things might just be changing. A lad from Kolkata is here to transform the situation and has the potential to create the headlines tomorrow. Prasanta Karmakar, an amputee swimmer, was one of the most celebrated swimmers in the recently concluded IWAS Games held in Bangalore. Here are some excerpts from our talk with Prasanta;

1. How did you get into Swimming and choose it as your profession?
A. Initially, I started swimming just for fun, but only after winning a medal in the 2006 Asian Games medal did I decide that I should choose it as a serious profession.

2. You won 7 medals in total – which included 4 Golds! Describe the winning experience - your medals were won across many categories, which is your pet event?
A. In the year 2009, I didn’t perform too well in 50m freestyle; atleast not upto my expectations. But the 100m freestyle went perfectly as planned! My personal favourite is the 50m freestyle event!

I expected the Gold because I had trained very well and was enjoying myself. The community and my coaches expected the same. I broke the National record yet again, but missed the World record by a good margin.

prasanth

3. Who has been your biggest inspiration?
A. My losses are my biggest inspiration! To me, winning is everything!

4. Despite the condition, what made you believe in yourself as this is a great inspiration to a lot of sportsmen around the world
A. Here, I’d like to share a small story – the Govt. of India spent 25-30 cr on the IWAS, but we Paralympics sportsmen don’t have job opportunities with our Govt. I for one have only a minor right hand problem, but my co-athletes have worse problems. I feel that the Govt. of India doesn’t give us the due respect. We’re not expecting too much - just stability and jobs. And this is my biggest inspiration - to win against all odds and win in the 2010 CommonWealth Games to create awareness for Paralympics sport. I want to win for the community first and then for myself!

5. Your most proud moment/achievement in your swimming career.
A. The win at the 2006 Asian Games – Bronze Medal would be the most memorable achievement of my life because I competed against the toughest competitors. I had competed in 7 categories, but won only in 1. It truly was my best achievement and it changed the way I looked at myself as a swimmer. The medal still drives me to create more records!

6. Your most memorable lap of all times and why is it the best!
A. I clocked my best in the 100m freestyle in the IWAS of 1min 3.76 secs. I ended up winning my Gold with this very lap.

7. Your 5 year plans as a swimmer… Where is the Prasanta Karmakar of 2015?
A. Honestly that’s a little too far fetched as I turn 29 this December. I cannot focus much on swimming as presently I need to think first about my job stability than about my sport. So an important question I always face is - how do I gather the support to pursue my sport and bring accolades while at the same time support myself? I have written to the Govt. of India and Mittal Champions Trust – but in vain as there have been no reverts from either. If I can self sustain life in Bangalore that is complimented by a govt. job, I will be able to focus and channelize my energies on winning more accolades for India, than running behind sponsors!

8. Your biggest support and encouragement or guru for you to get into this sport?
A. I have had number of coaches in my life, in my 11th standard I had my first tryst with water and my then coach Mr. Badal made a huge impact on me as a swimmer. Mr. Kundu, another renowned coach also helped me to a great extent with my technique. Mr. Amit Shukla Bhandari – a former national swimmer and medalist and now the Bengal swimming coach – has shaped the swimmer in me. I would like to thank all those who have supported me till date. Currently, Nihar Ameen is who I train regularly with.

gosportslogo 9. What role does GoSports Foundation play in your success as a swimmer?
A. They offered me a scholarship for my training as a swimmer. They have been supporting my efforts since the last 4-5 months. Mr. Hakim met me during the 2008 Youth CommonWealth Games in Pune where I volunteered for the swimming races. By volunteering, I got to not only witness the foreign swimmers in close quarters, but also swim and practice in my free time. GoSports Foundation offered me support to live and practice in Bangalore. I live and practice with Mr. Nihar Ameen who is the Head Coach at the K C Reddy Swimming Centre. While the efforts of GoSports Foundation have helped me a great deal, I am hoping that more sponsors come forward to support my swimming career.

Also, from a training perspective, I chose not to attend the India swimming camps but prefer to train with the other swimmers at the K C Reddy Swimming Centre like Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal

iSport also got in touch with Nidhi Gupta, who is the Programme Director with the GoSports Foundation to share their involvement and expectations off Prasanta with our readers.

“Prasanta's is a truly inspiring story; it's great to see what he has achieved despite the odds. We at GoSports Foundation are supporting him in achieving his dreams of winning more laurels for the country over the coming years”, said an excited Nidhi.

10. Your message to your iSport fans.
A. I am glad to receive support from the iSport platform – I wish that you educate your readers on Paralympics sports and sportsmen. We work equally hard as mainstream sportsmen to bring glory to India.

11. Phelps / Thorpe – who is your favourite?
A. This is a trick question! Both are equally talented and successful. However, I would choose Ian Thorpe– I say this after putting a stone on my heart. But Ian’s swimming style is simply superb!

iSport is committed to bring to you success stories of Indian athletes and sportsmen who bring glory to our country but are not always spoken about in the mainstream media. Tell us how you like this story - write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it