Calcutta, Nov. 6 :    Calcutta, Nov. 6:  Nearing the end of an illustrious career, Sebastian Xavier of the Railways (he hails from the Aleppey district of Kerala), has still to get the desired recognition. He has won an immense number of medals in the pool, many at the international level, and has set several national records, but out of the pool, he remains unheralded, sort of. Xavier has ruled the national swimming scene for a long time now. The on-going 55th nationals is his 13th, and today he won his 72nd gold at that level. He has won 19 SAF Games golds (from five meets) and has even Asian Games (two) and Olympics (Atlanta 1996) experience to his credit. He has taken part in two Asian Championships (in 1992 and 1996 where he finished a creditable fifth), and has 12 golds from two SAF swimming meets. He also has nine golds from three Asia Pacific meets. Today, virtually disillusioned, he says not much is going to happen in the pool in this country till this extraordinary sport is given due recognition by the government and by the media. 'I remember, at the Asia Pacific meet in 1998 in Bangalore, when I did the 50m in an almost Asia-record time of 22.89 seconds, I was really excited,' he says. 'I switched on the TV to watch the 9pm news. What they showed was footage of Indian cricketers going back from their practice ground to the hotel. Not one mention of my feat. It made me feel sad, very sad. I too was performing for the country, and I too had done well.' He believes this sport is neglected by the powers-that-be. And it is not a wild comment. 'Look at this. I know I am still good, but in the sprints, a 31-year-old expects to be shoved off his throne by younger talents.' Sebastian, who can be said to be the best sprint talent in the country after Khajan Singh Tokas, though, has hopes pinned on youngsters like Deepak Kumar and Akbar Ali Mir and T.A Sujith. 'They should really shine in the days to come,' he said, 'but they will need the best coaching, the best facility.' The 10th of 11 siblings (six sisters), he is still not thinking of retirement. He plans to go on as long as he feels he is good enough for the national level.