Five reasons why swimming deserves to be among the popular sports in the country...

1. Swimming is in a league of its own
We have sports like cricket, football, basketball, hockey and then we have swimming, which requires a person to race in a medium which is not natural to man. We are terrestrials after all and not aquatic creatures! So the first reason why swimming is a unique sport is because it requires us to step out of our comfort zones and learn to adapt to an unknown medium. Yes, we do have other water-based sports now like diving, open water racing, water polo but the genesis remains to be swimming.

2. Swimming is an individual yet a team sport
Swimming races, ultimately, require us to compete individually but there is no person who can ever hope to achieve anything worth speaking of without the backing of a swim team. You train together, you travel to competitions together, you go through the tough times together, and you win and lose together. In swimming, your team is what makes or breaks you as an individual swimmer. I guess, I cannot emphasize anymore as to how important a supportive team is to a successful swimmer.

3. Swimmers are fit to compete in multiple sports
Of course, now, anyone would think this would be true of any sportsperson. But ask a footballer or a cricketer or an athlete to do a swimmer’s workout and you’ll know what I’m talking about. On the other hand, ask a swimmer to do any of the other sports’ training regimen and chances are they might already be doing it as part of their overall training schedule.

4.  Swimming requires you to not breathe and still move fast as you can
How many sports have you heard of that requires you to do something like this? This is a unique part of competitive swimming which gives it an almost mystical quality. Imagine trying to go without oxygen and doing a 100 metre sprint run. Sounds really tough, doesn’t it? But to most of us it sounds fun, which is why we think swimming has to be one of the coolest sports invented ever!

5. Swimming is just as exciting as any other of the top sports
I’ve heard so many people talk about how an event in swimming gets over really quick, before one can even begin to enjoy it. But that is precisely where the beauty of the sport lies. Its in the adrenaline rush that you get on watching eight finalists finish within a second of each other.
Just give it a fair chance. I promise you, you’ll be amazed.