KOCHI:  Swimmer Anand A S has been overjoyed ever since he secured one bronze and two gold medals at the 10th Asian Age Group Championships held in Bengaluru this September. The 22-year-old bagged medals in the 4X100 freestyle relay and 4X200 freestyle relay events. His other recent triumph came at the 73rd Glenmark Senior National Aquatic Championships held at Bhopal in August where he managed to win six silver medals in freestyle swimming. “I have been winning medals at the national level since 2011,” said Anand. Presently he trains at the Bangalore Swimming Research Centre (BSRC) under the guidance of his coach A C Jayarajan. 

Anand took his first swimming lessons at the Pulari Swimming Club in Pirappancode, his hometown. He started participating in junior national-level swimming tournaments right from when he was in Class V. Currently, Anand is preparing for the South Asian Games which will be held in December in Nepal. In 2016, he had participated in the South Asian Aquatic Championships (SAAC) held in Sri Lanka where he won one gold and three silvers.

However, Anand’s ultimate dream is to win a medal at the Olympics. He aims to achieve the feat by improving his timing at SAAC.  Some of the other notable achievements of Anand include winning one gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the 35th National Games in 2015. 

Jayarajan who coaches Anand was full of praise for his pupil. “Anand is a talented swimmer and can qualify for the 2024 Olympics if he practices regularly,” said Jayarajan who coached the national swimming team during last year’s Asian Games, held at Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.