Her joy is swimming for Kenya

BY Erick Ochieng’

Eleven-year-old Ayushi Chandaria is a promising swimmer who wants to break swimming records and win medals. She loves representing her country in swimming.

The Kenyan swimmer is based in Singapore where she goes to school and is trained in swimming.

Ayushi was back in the country recently to participate in the just concluded Africa Zone Three and Four Swimming Championships at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi where she scooped several medals for Kenya.

Besides lowering her best times in the 50m butterfly, 100m back and breast strokes and 200m individual medley and backstroke she got opportunity to make friends with children from all over Africa at the event.

Ayushi feels confident that the tips she is getting from her Kenyan coach Andrew Nderu will take her far in swimming.

"My coach makes swimming easy and exciting," Ayushi told Twinkle.

Ayushi, a vegetarian, eats a high carbohydrate diet prepared by her mother Aartia Chandaria to give her energy for competitions.

Although, she hates cold water and waking up at 5am to swim, her mother and grandfather Manu Chandaria always give her moral support.

"My mum accompanies me to every contest. Last year she surprised me by going all the way to Florida, USA to watch me train," says Ayushi whose role model is global swimming sensation Michael Phelps.

Through swimming, she has visited Singapore, Australia and the US.

Her favourite subject is mathematics. She is also good at belly dancing, Indian dance, piano and Chinese. She hopes to major in mathematics at Stanford University in the US, just like her dad.

Her achievements in swimming include the inter school championships where she leads her Tanglin Trust School in winning local championships. At the Indian Ocean All Stars meet in 2008 in Perth, Australia, she was among the junior finalists. She has qualified for the Singapore National Age Group championship for the third year running.

She hopes to continue swimming for the rest of her life.