66-year-old man set to swim 3.5 km with legs, hands tied

Malpe (Udupi): Just like the English Channel between France and England, the Malpe sea coast on the Western Coast of India, 65 km from Mangaluru, has enthused many sea swimmers. In the past, many records have been set. But what Gangadhar Kadekar, a local swimmer, will attempt to do on January 24, is going to be something extraordinary.

The 66-year-old has set himself a daunting task of swimming the 3.5 km distance with both his legs and hands tied, to find a place for himself in the Golden Book of World Records.

Gangadhar who is fit as a fiddle just 4 years away from turning 70, looks not a day older than 35. "I started to take interest in swimming when I was 50 years. But quickly I made it a point that every day I swim not less than 3 kilometres in the sea which has earned me a mention in the India Book of Records for maximum distance covered in the sea and also for swimming in Padmasana position. I hold a record for swimming breaststroke 1,400 metres with my legs shackled," said this gritty old man.

"But what I intend to do on 24 January is something which I myself have not seen anybody doing in my part of the world at my age." Earlier another maverick swimmer Gopal Kharvi has also done this feat but he was 37 years old when he achieved it," Gangadhar told The Hans India.

Gangadhar said that he is trying to enter his name in the Golden Book of World Records. Gangadhar G Kadekar bagged the Udupi district level Karnataka Rajyothsava Award last year.