Click to play videoNew Delhi: There are only a lucky few who truly have a calling in life and they know is what they are made to do. At 16 years, Virdhaval Khade knows what his life is meant for - all thanks to his father's dreams of seeing his son make it big some day.
"My dad put in a summer camp just to learn swimming and so I stay fit and stuff. I started getting really good at it and so I continued the sport," says Virdhawal.
And since then, it has been a steady race to the top for Virdhaval. In a nation that used to depend on wild cards for its swimmers to compete at the games, Virdhaval has gone ahead and qualified for three races (50m, 100m, 200m freestyle) at the Beijing Olympics.
"Virdhaval is phenomenal. He has amazing talent and he has constantly been improving. Where he started off from 2006 to where he is today is a completely different level," says Virdhaval's manager, Hakeemuddin Habibullah.
A young prodigy like Virdhaval, one with true talent and a perseverance to prove the worth of that talent is not found everyday, but of course with such talent come expectations of an entire nation looking for a hero.
"Obviously there is pressure, but I will just have to learn to handle it," says he.
Truly a water baby and a genuine pool shark, Virdhaval Khade has a lot riding on his shoulders when he leaves for the Beijing Olympics in a few days.
But one needs to remember that at 16, the Beijing Games are only the beginning of tide and the enormous promise that the young boy holds for the country's medal hopes in the future.
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