‘I wasn’t excited, I was disappointed’: Why Dhinidhi Desinghu isn’t celebrating her historic Youth Olympics medal

Dhinidhi Desinghu has made history in Indian swimming, but the 16-year-old is not completely satisfied with her success. Her bronze medal in the women’s 100m freestyle at the Dakar Youth Olympics made her the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at a global event and opened India’s medal account at the Games. Still, the teenager admits she set her sights much higher.Dhinidhi wanted to break the 56 second mark or win the gold. Neither goal was met, so she had mixed emotions despite her historic podium finish.“On the one hand, the expectations I had of myself were very different. I wanted to go under 56 seconds, which didn’t happen even though I was close, or to win the gold medal, which didn’t happen either. I wasn’t excited in that way, I was actually a bit disappointed,” she told PTI from Dakar.However, her final time of 56.27 seconds was a personal best. It bettered her own Indian best time of 56.57 clocked earlier this year and underlined her progress in the event.

A ‘very proud moment’ for Indian swimming

While Dhinidhi was disappointed not to meet her personal goals, she acknowledged the significance of her medal for a sport that has struggled for visibility and results in India, especially in the women’s category.“But at the same time to bring the first medal to the country. You would expect that in another sport…you wouldn’t expect that from a girl who is a swimmer because swimming is nowhere and women’s swimming is even further behind. So it’s a very proud moment like that,” she said.The medal is a landmark for Indian swimming, but Dhinidhi’s journey to the international stage began long before Dakar. At the age of 14, she was the youngest member of the Indian contingent for the 2024 Paris Olympics, earning her place through the all-round quota.But he believes the Youth Olympics have brought a different kind of competitive pressure.“I didn’t really think about it (being an Olympian). It’s a much bigger meet. It’s like you’re already an Olympian. So coming to the Youth Olympics before the Olympics is kind of funny. I didn’t think much about the Olympics because I didn’t really qualify. I was the best Indian. Yes, I have to go,” she said.

More pressure at the Dakar than at the Olympics in Paris

Dhinidhi explained that Paris was largely an opportunity to experience the sport’s biggest stage, while the Dakar offered a more direct test against the swimmers she is expected to face in the coming years.“Here at the Youth Olympics, I’m competing against the exact same people that I’ll be facing in the future at Worlds or Juniors. Because of that, I actually had more expectations and pressure on myself to perform here than at the main Olympics. Paris was more about life experience and less about performance.”“We’re obviously looking to win here and we’ve done well in terms of your time, coming back with medals. So it’s very different in that way. The Youth Olympics is a little more pressure than the actual Olympics,” she added.Dhinidhi has little time to dwell on her bronze, with two events remaining, including the 200m freestyle, her main event. A performance at 100 meters gave her confidence, especially after improving her opening speed.“I feel a lot better going into it. Because now I have a lot more opening speed. I have goals for it as well,” she said.