The late Olympian Arati Saha is in the news today for two reasons First, today is his 80th birthday and the other reason is that Google dedicated his Doodle d ‘today to pay tribute to him
There have been many athletes in the country, but why is she still remembered? The reason is that Saha, a revolutionary long-distance Indian swimmer, on September 29, 1959, made her country proud by becoming the first Asian woman to cross the English Channel The legendary swimmer swam 42 miles from Cape Gris Nez, France to Sandgate, England
As the country pays homage to one of its legendary athletes today, this is how Saha achieved the feat of crossing the Channel
She was a fighter and had started to taste success at a very young age Born September 24, 1940 in Kolkata, she won her first gold medal in swimming at the age of five At this time, Saha was framed by Sachin Nag
Until the age of 11, she was already known as a swimming prodigy. Early in her career, Saha gained attention by setting an all-India record in 1949 One of her biggest milestones in her career came when she broke Dolly Nazir’s record in India at a West Bengal state meet in 1951 Saha and Nazir went on to represent India at the 1952 Olympics
His trip to the Channel began with a Bangladeshi swimmer named Brojen Das He was the first Asian swimmer to cross the Channel in 1952 Das recommended Saha to the organizers of the Butlin International Cross Channel Swimming Race for an event that was to be held in 1953
However, it was not that easy for her. She struggled to find funds to travel to England Finally, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stepped forward to support Saha
She underwent rigorous training while preparing to swim in the English Channel After six years of training, she left for England in July 1959
Saha also encountered obstacles during her attempt to cross the English Channel Finally, on September 29, 1959, she made history by reaching the English coast, having covered 42 miles in 16 hours and 20 minutes
Arati Saha, India, Google Doodle, English Channel
World News – UK – Arati Saha, today’s Google Doodle, was the first Asian woman to cross the Swimming sleeve
