Trust remains biggest challenge after historic bronze, says Tirthank Pegu

Tirthank Pegu after winning the bronze medal and (pictured right) with his coach Sandeep Sejwal KOLKATA: Youth Olympic bronze medalist Tirthank Pegu believes a lack of confidence could have cost him an even higher finish in the 200m butterfly and admits his mindset remains the biggest area for improvement as he eyes an unprecedented Olympic final for India.“The biggest area I need to improve is my mindset. I need to be more positive and confident,” Pegu said after becoming the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympics. “I really believe that my medal could have been a different color if I hadn’t fought with confidence in the last month.”The 17-year-old from Assam clinched the 200m butterfly bronze in 2:01.25, days after narrowly missing out on the podium in the 100m butterfly where he finished fourth in 54.98 seconds, just 0.27 seconds off the bronze.The swimmer admitted that before the 200-meter final, he was also heartbroken because he narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100-meter butterfly. “To be honest, I was really nervous. I was too focused on the medal and I was afraid that I would disappoint my coach and everyone who supported me,” he said during a virtual interaction on Monday. “During the last 50m I had only one thing in my mind: I hope I get a medal.”However, this historic feat would not have been possible without the influence of his late father Kunal, an amateur boxer at the district level. While Kunal wanted his son to take up boxing, Pegu’s mother was worried about injuring his face. The youngster finally took up swimming at the age of four, with his father becoming the driving force behind his journey. However, the path was far from easy.“It was a financial struggle, but he never showed me that,” Pegu said. “He did everything he could for my swimming. My mother often says that my father never invested in anything else. I was his investment.”Although his father is no longer there to celebrate the milestone, Pegu, an Inspire Institute of Sport athlete, carries his influence with him as he looks to the next phase of his career.Pegu’s achievement came shortly after Dhinidhi Desinghu became the first Indian swimmer to win a Youth Olympic medal, making it a landmark year for Indian swimming at the Games.While many have described it as a breakthrough moment, Pegu believes it is the result of years of foundation laid by earlier generations of swimmers. “I wouldn’t call it a sudden success,” he said. “Dhinidhi had already competed in the Paris Olympics and swimmers like Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj showed what was possible. They paved the way for us.”For Pega, the Youth Olympics was the culmination of a year-long effort built around a single goal. Much of his development, according to the teenager, came under coach Sandeep Sejwal.With Sejwal retired from coaching, the medal also carried extra meaning for Pega, who has repeatedly credited his mentor for shaping him as both a swimmer and a person. “Sandeep sir feels like family now,” she told Pegu. “He helped me not only in swimming, but also in life. He taught me how elite athletes think and what it means to compete at the highest level.”In the future, Pegu also wants to improve in the 50m butterfly and 400m individual medley events. “Improving in these events will help me improve in the 200m butterfly as well,” he said.With a Youth Olympic medal around his neck, Pegu can finally enjoy a dream come true, built on the sacrifices of his late father and the faith of those who helped him along the way.