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Bhakti Sharma, 23, is quite the water baby. She is the youngest in the world to have crossed seven seas, including four oceans; is only the third person in the world to have swum across the Arctic Ocean, and is now eyeing the Antarctic Ocean to become the youngest to swim in all five oceans. In recognition of her achievements, the Udaipur girl was awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2012 for water adventure, which was presented by the President of India. Even as a child, the local pool was her playground. Bhakti is an eight-time Rajasthan state champion in competitive swimming. When she turned 14, her mother, Leena, encouraged her to try open water swimming. Recalls the youngster, "I started training for a 16-km swim in the Arabian Sea – from Uran Port to the Gateway of India in Mumbai. After I successfully completed that stretch, I swam 36 km from Dharamtal Port to the Gateway of India. "Encouraged, my mother asked me if I would like to take up the challenge of crossing the English Channel. I was only 14 then, while the minimum age for attempting the swim is 16, so I had to wait." The interim years gave her adequate time to prepare. During the cold Udaipur winters she would practice in the pool to get acclimatised to the icy waters of the English Channel. "On cold winter nights, I would be swimming. People called my mother and me crazy. A month before my scheduled swim in the Channel, we went to Dover Port, England. I practised in sea for four hours daily that month," says the gritty swimmer. Bhakti crossed the English Channel in July 2006 but not without setbacks. When she set off from Shakespeare Beach in Dover at 6.30 am British time, the water temperature was 14`BA C. It dropped drastically during the last leg. She also had to battle seven feet-high waves because of the prevailing high tide. But the resolute teenager carried on. "I didn't want to give up. I reached Kli beach in France, 11 hours and 55 minutes later. I lost a good three hours on account of the turbulence," she says, looking back at that adventure. She was in Class XII when she completed this feat. One year after she had conquered the Channel, Bhakti embarked upon another tough event — the Lake Zurich Marathon Swim, from Rapperswil to Zurich, 26.4 km, a major international event. "Although I had had enough practice in Udaipur’s Pichhola and Fatehsagar lakes, but competing with participants from 52 countries, all in their late thirties, was a different thing. Moreover, as lake water is very still the swim gets very tiring," she adds. Beating all odds, Bhakti grabbed the first position, completing the swim in 10 hours and 42 minutes. In the years that followed, Bhakti crossed the Gulf of Mexico — the only Indian to do so — in 2007, then it was the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Through all these adventures, her mother was her constant companion and motivator. "My mother had always egged me on, sitting on the boat with a video camera in hand as I swam. Then when a Jodhpur-based girl, Priyanka approached her for coaching to cross the English Channel, I suggested that the three of us form a relay team. The girl wasn’t strong enough for a solo swim," says the swimmer. The trio’s maiden attempt at crossing the Channel in February 2008 was not successful. "Nine hours into the swim, we realised we couldn’t do it. In a relay, each member takes turns every hour while the others follow in a boat. However, all of us threw up after each came back from our stints in the sea. So we decided to pack up for the day and returned to Dover," she recalls. Bhakti was disappointed but she did not to give up. "I thought we deserved another chance and luckily we managed to convince the organisers too. Nine days later, we became the only mother-daughter duo in the world to have crossed the English Channel," she says with pride. They also made an Asian record – of being the only three-member relay team to complete the feat. Bhakti’s tryst with the tidal waters continued. In 2010, she went to Iceland to cross the Arctic Ocean. It was dangerous because the water temperature was around 6 `BA C and there were killer whales to contend with. Later on August 9 that year, she became the third person in the world to swim in the Arctic. Incredible as it may sound, Bhakti keeps up her spirits on the high seas by singing. "While doing long-distance swims, I sing songs in my head and often come up with a short poem. I also think of all the things I would eat after finishing the swim. I often feel jealous when I see people eating good food on the boat while I am swimming in turbulent waters. When I get stuck in tides, I recite the Hanuman Chalisa," says the youngster, who also has black belt in karate. Of course, these achievements have come after a lot of sacrifice and hard work. Her mother took voluntary retirement from her bank job to chase Sharma’s dreams. Her parents take loans to felicitate training and travel. "The English Channel swim cost us around Rs 12 lakh," says Leena, adding, "Now we need around Rs 30 lakh for the Antarctica expedition. Long-distance swimming was included in the 2008 Olympics but awareness about the sport is quite dismal in India, and it's almost impossible to find sponsors." Yet, despite the challenges, Sharma feels fortunate to have got the chance to pursue her passion.
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