Mangaluru— Seventeen-year-old Nandan Naik from Varanashi Swimming Academy (VSA), Adyanadka, has etched his name in the district’s sports history by clinching the first-ever gold medal in diving for Dakshina Kannada.
Representing VSA at the Sub Junior and Junior State Diving Championship organized by the Karnataka Swimming Association at Kensington Pool, Bengaluru (July 26–27), Nandan claimed gold in the 3-metre springboard (junior category) with a score of 243.95 points. He also secured a silver medal in the 10-metre platform dive, scoring 136 points.
A first-year BSc student at St. Philomena College, Puttur, Nandan’s journey began at age eight in the Balavana Swimming Pool. Trained under Coach Vikas in Puttur and Coach Venkatesh in Bengaluru, his potential was nurtured and guided by Partha Varanashi, Director of VSA.
Though he started with swimming, Nandan gradually developed a passion for acrobatics and parkour, learning much of it through YouTube tutorials. His trampoline skills even caught the attention of Hollywood screenwriter Peter Baynham at age 16.
Despite the lack of diving infrastructure and coaches in Dakshina Kannada — with even the Mangala Corporation’s diving facility being shut for safety reasons — Nandan made remarkable progress. Partha said his 2.5 backward flip in the 3-metre springboard, achieved with just two years of irregular training, secured his historic win.
Nandan has now qualified for the Junior National Diving Championship, also scheduled in Bengaluru.