Ten year-old Surekha to swim in Bay of Bengal

Vijayawada, Aug 1 (UNI) Ten-year-old swimming prodigy P Surekha, who carved her name in the Limca Book of Records by swimming in the river Krishna as a five year-old, is now preparing to swim in the Bay of Bengal.

The 'little mermaid' would take the plunge in January 2007, covering a distance of 40 km from Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka, if everything goes according to the plan, her father V Surendra told UNI here today.

Mr Surendra said she also planned to swim in the English Channel during the summer holidays in 2007.

He said everyday her daughter was practising swimming for two hours and training under coach Rammohan Rao to achieve flexibility.

To reach Sri Lanka from Dhanushkodi it will take 10 hours of swimming, he said and added that as her coach Tirumalai was busy with International competitions, she will be planning to take up the venture early in 2007.

Surekha, as a five-year-old toddler, took the world by surprise by crossing the Krishna river in 2001, covering a distance of five Km in 3.06.20 seconds for a place in the Limca book of World records as the youngest, long distance swimmer.

She received an award from Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh in 2004 in the young achievers category besides Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's 'Pratiba Puraskar'.

Mr Surendra said to fulfil her daughter's Palk Straits dream, Rs two lakh was required to meet various expenses.

''We would like to manage the Palk Strait venture with the help of philanthropists and sponsors. For the English Channel, we would like to approach the state government through the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP)'', he said.

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