Poncha at the Olympics

In what is a major achievement for an Indian swimmer, 22-year-old Rehan Poncha has qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the 200m butterfly event. "India’s No 1 swimmer has finally made it,” reports Sportstar, July 19, 2008 in a prominent article under the headline "Rehan on board.”

"I am on the team to Beijing and do not have to go through any further trials,” an elated Poncha informed Parsiana. At the Telstra Grand Prix II in Sydney from July 4-6, 2008, Poncha achieved a time of 2 min, 01.40 sec, while the qualifying mark was 2 min, 01.79 sec. Achieving fifth position in the final in the event, Poncha broke star Indian swimmer Khazan Singh’s 22-year-old record set while winning silver at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986 (the only medal that an Indian swimmer has ever won at the Asiad, as per Sportstar).

"Training for the Sydney meet was physical as well as mental. I had to prepare mentally because I knew this was my last chance and I could not let the pressure get to me,” describes Poncha. "I had two attempts –– once in the heats and once in the finals. In the heats I missed the mark by just .59 of a second. I was upset.”

The next morning in the finals Poncha knew he would be racing against Australia and New Zealand’s top 200m butterfly specialists. "The pace of the race was so fast that it helped me swim faster… After the swim I was really excited as well as relieved. All my hard work for the last 15 years has paid off. I was very satisfied with my swim and so was my coach S. Pradeep Kumar. In the last one year I have improved by over three seconds in this event. I am now training hard to swim faster in Beijing.”

Known to be a strong mid distance swimmer with several national records to his name, Pradeep Kumar had his reasons for wanting Poncha to qualify for the 200m butterfly. "He had an outside chance in the 400m freestyle and the 400m individual medley but a two to three second margin in the 200m butterfly was attainable and accordingly we worked to go past that mark,” Sportstar quotes Pradeep Kumar.

Swimmer Rehan Poncha

Poncha had made two earlier attempts to qualify for the Olympics — at the Australian National qualifying trials (which allow foreign participants) and the Malaysian Open Championship. Training diligently for two months after that in Bangalore, where he resides, Poncha knew the Sydney meet was his last opportunity to qualify.

"I might not win a medal at the Beijing Olympics, but the target is the 2012 Olympics in London and my immediate goal is the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi,” Poncha stated.

"With Rehan on board, the country for the first time is fielding a four-member squad which includes Veerdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal and US-based Ankur Poseria. It is certainly a good sign for Indian aquatics,” notes Sportstar.

"The last time a Parsi participated in swimming at the Olympics was in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics,” states Rehan’s father Jehangir who along with his wife Shirin have been the bedrock of Rehan’s swimming career, giving it priority over all else. Dolly Nazir (later Dolly Byramji) was in the swimming team, while Adi Bharucha and Jehangir Naigamwalla were in both the swimming and water polo squads at Helsinki. It’s been a long drought of 56 years, says Bharucha. "This is indeed a great honor that the individual has earned not only for himself but also for our community,” notes Shereyar Vakil, honorary secretary of The Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman, felicitating Rehan on his achievement.

Ere 1952, at the 1948 London Olympics, of the nine-member cycling squad, seven were Parsis — Adi Havewalla, Malcolm Malcolm, Homi Powri, Piloo Sarkari, Rusi Mulla Feroze, Rohinton Noble and Jehangoo Amin. Cyclist Sam Daruwalla had been selected for the 1960 Rome Olympics and Lady Meherbai Dorabji Tata was chosen for the mixed doubles as part of the Indian tennis squad for the 1924 Paris Olympics, but neither made it to the Games for a variety of reasons.

Subsequently, athlete Adille Sumariwalla (Moscow 1980), yachtsman Farokh Tarapore (Los Angeles 1984) and judoka Cawas Billimoria (Barcelona 1992) have been the rare Parsi participants at the world’s most coveted sporting event. At World Championships, Asian Games and other international competitions, however, a good number of Zoroastrians have been successful.