In pool positionParesh Mokani <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Paresh-Mokani.cms> | Aug 15, 2015, 05.52 PM IST inShare
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/In-pool-position/articleshow/48495292.cms#write> *Panaji: *When Goa's best swimmer Xavier D'Souza's contemporary Jerry D'Mello brought glory to Goa by winning gold in the 50m butterfly in the National Swimming Championship in Bhopal last year, the young 14-year-old Mapusa resident decided he would not sit back and watch. Instead, he decided to put heart and soul into his training to take his performance to the next level, and how. The young lad made a major splash winning three gold, a silver medal and a bronze, with two national records at the recently concluded under-14 National Championship in Pune. He broke national records with timings of 28.89 seconds and 59.23 second in the 50m backstrokes and the 100m butterfly respectively. He claimed the 50m butterfly gold medal, clocking 26.86 second. There was something special about his performance. He not only broke two national records, but had the satisfaction of watching his close pal Sayed Zidane win silver in the 200m freestyle. This is Xavier's first gold in his fifth attempt. Xavier's turnaround is a story in itself. "I was doing well earlier but it was not enough to achieve such results by staying in Goa. There was no one to push me beyond my limits and no competition, so I moved to Bengaluru with Zidane, who was already training there," says the Mapusa resident, who idolizes swimming great Michael Phelps. "I would like to dedicate these medals to my grandmother Feliciano D'Souza, who is wheelchair bound. She aided me financially so that I could reach greater heights. My brother Augustine is also responsible for my exploits. He is a like a shadow to me," Xavier says. The young Goan, who took part in the 2014 Triathlon, met Alexandra (Aly) von Moltke. He took part in the event, swimming in German Moltke's team. Moltke popularly known as Aly was impressed by the way Xavier swam and offered to train him free at her own personal training facility, Fit & Fast, in Saligao, North Goa. Aly, who is a qualified fitness trainer with a certificate from the National Federation of Personal Trainers (NFPT) and American Council of Exercise (ACE), said, "Xavier has progressed well. He trained under me for fitness before moving to Bengaluru. It was a break of almost a year. He needs to build on his muscle. We are working on that front. It is good to have him back. He is an amazing swimmer. Xavier is chosen for the Asian Age Group Swimming Championship and that level competition will be tough. I am not a swimming coach, so I would do what is best for him on the fitness front." Xavier was good but not good enough to achieve the desired results. His parents John and Amelia D'Souza visited Dolphin Aquatics, a Bengaluru swimming facility run by Nihar Amin. They met Zarina Sayed, who sacrificed her routine Goa life and had already moved to Bengaluru for the betterment of son Zidane. It was a tough decision to move and once it was decided, it was Zarina who showed equal love and affection for Xavier. "I don't agree that Xavier is a difficult kid to handle. He won't create any fuss about food. Whatever you serve him on plate, he will eat it unlike Zidane. In my absence Zidane does the same with Amelia," says Zarina. "Xavier has been a good influence on Zidane. My boy learnt a lot from Xavier. He started eating well, doing workouts and it was a good change," she adds. Zarina moved to Bengaluru in April 2014. "I just mentioned to Amelia if they ever wanted to come to Bengaluru, they were most welcome. We gel well, bond together. We now take turns coming down to Goa. Whenever I return to Goa, Amelia takes over and cares for both the kids and I do the same when she has to be in Goa," Zarina revealed. "We get offs only on Sunday. There is no personal life. The boys are really working hard, no normal life." One thing was clear, Zidane has sports running in his blood. His mother Zarina was a handball and basketball player, father Iqbal was a judoka. Their family own a cricket club called Iqbal XI. Zidane is known as a drama king in his family. He is mischievous and loves drama. "I have a desire to achieve. People tell me that since I was named after the great French footballer Zinedine Zidane, I should have played football. But I am glad that I took up swimming. I never went with the intention to win a medal in 200m, I was just practicing and took part in my fourth, the last event. I just came second," says Zidane. Iqbal, Zidane's father, was vocal about the tough life they are up against. "As a family we are missing out on fun life. We are staying apart. I visit them once in a month and at this age kids require their father at their side. As they grow older, they have their friends. It is painful. All of us are putting up a great effort and so does the D'Souza family. I am trying my best for the kids, that's what I believe." -- -- Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe email [email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
