The Real Hero title was a morale boost for my students: Karsanbhai Patel

Sundernagar: Karsanbhai Patel has been training state and national level swimmers in a small village lake in Gujarat. He said the CNN-IBN Real Heroes award helped give them a boost. The swimmers prepare for the championships in a canal at the tiny hamlet of Sundernagar. The canal that has produced many state and national level swimming champs.

It is the government school teacher Karsanbhai Patel, CNN-IBN's Real Hero in 2009, who has made this possible. He said the award has given his children that much needed boost and the modern equipment that will help them compete with the best.

"Earlier even getting swimming costumes for girls was difficult, but with the award money I bought the international level gear," he said.

Karsanbhai Patel has been training state and national level swimmers in a small village lake in Gujarat.

The results show. In the last two years students have participated in five state level championships and have won 10 medals. Karsanbhai's effort was recognised by the Gujarat government and his children won award money worth Rs 2.5 lakh after Real Heroes. Karsanbhai's next big dream is a proper Olympic style swimming pool for the next champions of his village.

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