A young Calcuttan swims to glory

Adidev with his medals and trophies at his Gurusaday Road residence. Picture: B. Halder

ADIDEV ROY
Age: 16
School: Class XI, La Martiniere for Boys

Claim to fame: A passionate swimmer, Adidev has participated in national and international competitions. He won the Best Boy trophy at the third GCM Inter-Club Swimming Championship held in Malaysia in 2013. The same year he bagged three gold medals at Calcutta Invitational School Sports, an inter-school athletic meet organised by the Debanjan Sen Foundation, held in association with TTIS. That apart, he was into equestrian sports and won medals in dressage and show jumping competitions at the national level till he was 12.

First splash: Adidev took up swimming some five years ago. “I started off pretty late, at age 11, which is considered late. I trained for two years and started swimming for my state when I was 13. Initially I’d go to the Saturday Club pool but as I progressed, I was training in three-four places. I also attended a camp in Bangalore. I am into competitive swimming for the last three years,” said Adidev.

Future plans: Though a big fan of American swimming champ Michael Phelps, Adidev doesn’t want to take up swimming as a profession. “Right now I want to start swimming for my country. I plan to swim till the end of my college years. I am definitely not taking up swimming as a career. I have opted for commerce in Class XI as I want to study economics and become an investment banker. I plan to do my Masters in economics from Yale University,” said the focused lad.

Family matters: The young swimmer enjoys his family’s support. “My family has always been by my side, especially my mom [Rupasree Roy]. She wakes up early just to make breakfast for me. My dad [Amit Roy] motivates me all the time. He’s an orthodox dad, always showing me the correct way. But I’m quite a rebellious teenager,” grinned the 16-year-old.

Star motto: “I believe in time management. I feel the mistake we make is that when we are focussing on something, we completely cut out other things. But when I am giving studies my priority, it’s not like I cut off from swimming completely and start putting on weight. I go for swimming sessions, obviously they are less intense and the frequency is much less, but I don’t stop training, even when studies take precedence,” is the word from the wise young man.

Shweta Keshri