Ahmedabad swimmer Sufyan, 20, youngest to get Tenzing award

It was a dream come true for the Ahmedabad’s long-distance swimmer, Sufyan Shaikh, when the Union sports ministry named him for the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award on Wednesday. He will be the youngest recipient of this award since its inception in 1978.

The award is named after the Nepali mountaineer Tenzing, who accompanied Edmund Hillary in the first successful human conquest of Mount Everest in 1953. Sufyan will receive the award from the President at a specially organised function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29.

Sufyan, now 20, couldn’t believe it when he got a call from a reporter informing him about the award. “It seemed the time had stopped for a moment. I couldn’t believe my ears. My hard work of 17 years has finally paid off. This award is at par with Arjuna award, so it has put me on cloud nine,” a triumphant Sufyan said. 

As a teenager, he had swum across Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf (Kuwait), English Channel, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.

The Amdavadi swimmer, who is the youngest person in the world to have swum nine seas around the world at a tender age of 17, will receive the award for water adventure for 2009. What makes it more special is that he is the youngest till date. “I wasn’t sure of winning it so early. Generally, the award is given to those who have been in adventure sports for more than three decades. So it’s a great feeling. It has boosted my confidence and motivated me to conquer new heights,” said Sufyan.

Hasn’t the award raised the expectations level and put additional responsibility on his young shoulders? “Yes it has. But I will work harder and show the world that we Gujaratis are equally competent when it comes to adventure sports,” said the young swimmer, who aspires to represent the country in the 2012 London Olympics in the 10-km open water swimming event.

While he was only 16, the Amdavadi created a record by swimming the most difficult waters in the world, the English Channel. In 2006 he swam a long stretch of 33.7 km from Dover to France in just 12 hours.