Andhra Pradesh   

Summer time is swimming time

Testing waters: Learners at the swimming pool in Adilabad.

ADILABAD: By donning modern swim suits, the females in Adilabad town has shed its conservative upbringing out for a long swim. Nearly a 100 girls and women have enrolled themselves in the swimming pool at the Indira Priyadarshini stadium this summer, making it an unprecedented event in a town known to be rooted in tradition. Women in Adilabad have taken a dip in the water in public only during religious occasions like the Godavari Pushkaralu. There is hardly any local woman who can be termed as a swimmer in the strict sense.

“Yes, it is the design of the swim suits that has inspired such a large number of girls and women to learn swimming,” said Vijayalaxmi, swimming coach, buttressing the argument. “These swim suits are not the stereotype, bare-all costumes any longer. The new ones cover the entire body like a Punjabi suit,” she added.

One person who does not seem to be surprised by this new development is District Sports Development Officer K. Rajender Reddy. He said this had to happen one day because of the influence of television. “Women are more cautious about their health now. We have a few middle-aged women members who have taken to swimming because of diabetes. This is the best exercise to control sugar levels in the body,” he explained.

The pool has opened just about a month ago and surprisingly the membership grew at a rapid pace. “Initially, college girls joined. On coming to know that we have a woman coach, the stream of new members rose,” DSDO said.

“ For the sake of giving personal attention we have divided the learners into two batches,” added the coach.

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