Who is the all-time youngest Indian athlete to compete at Olympic Games?

Swimmer Arati Saha became the youngest Indian Olympian during the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

India first competed at the Olympic games in 1900. But it was not until the 1952 Helsinki Olympics that saw women competing at the event. The Helsinki games saw Arati Saha making her Olympic debut at the age of 11 years, 10 months and 305 days old.

Saha, Nazir, Nilima Ghose and Mary D’Souza Sequeira were part of the first Indian women’s squad at theolympic games in 1952 at Helsinki. While Saha and Nazir took part in swimming, Ghose and Sequeira participated in Athletics.

Saha became the youngest Indian Olympian and competed in the women’s 200m breaststroke event. She finished sixth in her heats with a timing of 3:40.8 secs. She finished 33rd overall and was a few seconds behind her arch rival, Dolly Nazir.

At the age of 11, Saha set a national record in the 100m breaststroke. She broke Nazir’s record with a timing of 1:37:6 secs. Saha made sure to break barriers and boundaries every time she took part in swimming.

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Arati Saha and her records beyond the Olympic games

Saha was born in Kolkata, West Bengal on September 24, 1940. She started swimming at the age of four. Saha was mentored by Olympian Swimmer, Sachin Nag. He had competed in the 100m freestyle event during the London 1948 Olympics and finished sixth in the heats.

Nag’s training saw Saha making history at the Olympics and across all swimming endeavours. She became the first Asian woman to swim across the English channel in 1959. Saha swam for 16 hours and 20 minutes while completing the milestone at the age of 19.

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The young swimmer became the first Indian female athlete to be awarded the Padma Shri in 1960. Saha proved her mettle in short and long distance swimming events. She did not restrict herself to the pool and still serves as an inspiration to athletes. Her Olympic games record even after 72 years remains untouched.

The glorious swimmer succumbed to jaundice and encephalitis on August 23, 1994. Saha’s achievements have contributed to the growth of women athletes in India. Not just at the Olympics, but in all fields.

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