After three gold medals at Khelo India Youth Games 2024, swimmer Vritti Agarwal aims for Olympics

For swimmer Vritti Agarwal, winning gold seemed to have become a habit!

The 17-year-old gifted athlete from Telangana picked three gold in the Khelo India Youth Games competition in Chennai to serve as a gentle reminder that she means business.

For the record, Vritti clinched the honours in the girls 200m and 800m before winning the 400m gold with a timing of 4:32.77 to make a huge impact at the Games, where she was expected to do so given the fact that she had become the first-ever swimmer from Telangana to represent India in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

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The multiple medal winner at the senior level, Vritti is conscious that she has to put in more effort to make a mark at the international level.

“Frankly, some familiar names were not present in these Youth Games as they were selected for the Asian meet. But, anyhow, it was a good experience to swim with them,” Vritti said.

“Well, in the Asiad, I saw that there are swimmers out there working even harder than we were. We still have a long way to go. So we have to practice a lot more,” said the Commerce student of P. Obul Reddy School (Hyderabad).

“I have started on improving my technique by working with my coach John Siddiqui at Zion Sportz Swimming Academy in Hyderabad. I have felt that my stroke is not that good. The technique and all. I have to correct that. I have been working on it, and there is a little improvement,” Vritti explained.

Vritti, a 12th standard student balancing academics and sports, thanked her father, a software engineer and her mother, who gave up her job to devote her time to her.

“My target is to represent India in the Olympics, and I will work hard to realise that dream,” she signed off.