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Asian Voice |28th January 2017
Vaidehi Patel – an inspiration to Asian swimmers Smita Sarkar She is only fourteen; but Vaidehi Patel has made a name for herself in the UK swimming circles through her performances at various championships in the inter-school and national levels. This year she will be competing in (100m backstroke and 50m butterfly categories) the under 15 category in London – for the ISA (Independent Schools Association), National Swimming Champs and the Kent County ASA swimming championships in 2017. This calendar year for her is also peppered with individual club galas and competitions. Vaidehi has been representing her school from a young age, and swam at the London Regional Swimming Summer Championships, held at the Aquatics Centre in 2015. She achieved her personal best of 35.02 seconds in the under 13 category girls – 50m backstroke. She was ranked 13tth in the London region and 148th in the country. Vaidehi also won two medals at the ISA National Swimming Finals the same year – achieving Gold in 50m backstroke, with a personal best of 35.45 seconds and Bronze in the 50m Freestyle that she covered in 31.57 seconds. For swimmers like her, it takes hours of practice and years of discipline to reach these personal best benchmarks. But for Vaidehi swimming and being in water came naturally. Vaishali Patel, Vaidehi’s mother, says: “Vaidehi had always enjoyed splashing around in water from the age of two. In 2006 when she was four, we found a coach Tim who started giving her oneon-one half-hour sessions on swimming and technique. Two years later, he suggested we take her for time trials at a local swimming club – which we did and her journey began.” She joined the Beckenham Swimming
Vaidehi Patel
Club in the Development Squad, swimming two sessions a week and is now a part of the top squad – a prestigious membership decided stringently based on the participant’s hardwork, the hours dedicated to swimming regularly and commitment to the sport. “Vaidehi was swimming an average 16 to 17 hours a week, sometimes twice a day; including before-school sessions,” says Vaishali. Striking a balance between studies and sports during the formative years can be challenging, but Vaishali says that it is a work-in-progress and as her study load increases, they teach her to manage her time. “These days there are many day-to-day distractions like the social media, but we try to stay focussed. Whether it is during a car journey, or between races at the pool-side, homework is done and handed in on time.” Time management is key, and not every child is the same, says Vaishali. “We are often asked ‘this is all good, but what about her studies?’ or ‘what is the point of all this training, where will it take her?’ We believe that she will succeed in what she enjoys doing the most. It is important to remember that she may be fast in the pool, but that speed is not always transferred across when it comes to tidying her room,” chuckles Vaishali. “One has to remain patient.” Asian women are under-represented in sports in the UK, especially in swimming, but the
mind-set is changing among the community. “It is most definitely generational,” says Rajesh Patel, Vaidehi’s father. “I have family and friends in India whose teenage daughters are paving the way for themselves, both nationally and internationally and are equally encouraged in sports and spending their school holidays at sports camps abroad,” he says. Vaidehi’s school, family and friends play an invaluable role in shaping her with their encouragement and enthusiasm. “On a daily basis, we are the chauffeur, the counsellor, the parent or the dietitian. However, it all rolls into one, and is very much a team effort,” says Rajesh. Over the years, Vaidehi has been inspired by the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She was fortunate to meet Olympians and ParaOlympians Ian Thorpe, Derek Redmond and Susie Rodgers. For most sportsmen, the end-result is what really matters, but for young Vaidehi, the reward is in a workout done well. She looks for rewards in her improvements, those simple moments that may seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of accolades and medals. “If you accumulate
Work-related stress may cause cancer Stress at work 'could lead to cancer in men'. A new study conducted by researchers reveals working in a stressful job for 15 years raises the risk of lung, colon, rectal and stomach cancer along with non-Hodgkin lymphoma that develops in the vessels and glands. However, no such link was found in those who had suffered less than 15 years of working in a stressful job.
The researchers believe people under stress may start smoking, overeating or drinking alcohol. These are known risk factors for cancer. According to the Canadian study published in journal of Preventive Medicine, the most stressful jobs included firefighters, industrial engineers, mechanic foremen and vehicle and railway-equipment repair workers.
those countless little moments where I did it right and did it better, it soon dwarfs the shine of that gold, silver and bronze medals,” says Vaidehi. Like a young teenager, she is secretive and did not want to share much about her dreams, promising to discourse once she had achieved them. She has a motivational poster by Speedo that says “No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone in the couch.” “Olympic champions spend years training for that one chance, that one moment. They find value and meaning in what they are doing. You don’t need to be an Olympic champion, or chase some poolshattering record to understand this,” says Vaidehi. Vaishali describes her daughter matter-of-factly as ‘your average teenager’ who enjoys reading, socialising, listening to music and watching Bollywood and Hollywood movies. But there is a lot more to this than this extremely talented and robust young lady, and it is a matter of time when she will blossom and make the British Asian community proud with her swimming accomplishments in the international arena. You have all our best wishes, Vaidehi. Go girl!
Troll, revenge porn up crime The number of crimes involving violence in England and Wales has risen to 1,075,000, new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show. Crime estimates for England and Wales have nearly doubled after fraud and cyber offences were included in the total for the first time, the figures reveal.
A change in the recording of cyber crime and fraud pushed the total up to 11.8 million – almost double the level previously reported. Overall crime recorded by police rose by 8 per cent to 4.7 million offences in the year to the end of September, driven largely by a 22 per cent rise in violence against
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Young woman stabbed husband's teenage mistress A young wife was charged with three years and four months in prison after stabbing her husband's teenage mistress in a park. Natasha Khan, 18, from Whalley Range, Manchester, knifed Leah Cryne six times after finding out that Cryne slept with her spouse Hamza Farid while she sat with her dying baby at hospital. According to police, the gruesome incident took place following heated exchange over phone between the two women which culminated in Cryne, 18, snapping and saying: “I hope your son dies and when he does I'm going to dig him up and spit on him.” In response Khan retorted: “Watch it – when I see you, God help you.” The child has died since the April 2015 attack, Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard. Following the stabbing attack, Cryne was taken to the hospital as she had a
Natasha Khan
1.5cm deep laceration to her right shoulder, 4cm laceration to her left forearm and a 2cm graze to her head. Police arrested Khan near St Mary's Hospital where her one-month-old baby Aydin was lying seriously ill after being born prematurely. Khan admitted wounding with intent and a separate offence failing to answer her bail. She was also issued with a restraining order preventing her from contacting Cryne indefinitely.
Briton paddles 1,500 miles down the Ganges A 34-year-old Devon adventurer has become one of the first to travel 1,500 miles down the length of the River Ganges on a paddleboard, dodging poisonous snakes, crocodiles and sharks on the way. Mike “Spike” Reid spent 98 days on a standup board to complete the challenge with his Indian colleagues Shilpika Gautam and Kumaran Mahalingam, paddling for eight hours a day. They camped on the banks of the holy Hindu river. Spike and Shilpika started at 4,000m above sea level at the Gangotri Glacier in October. They hiked about 100 miles, before cycling a similar distance along mountain tracks. The two were joined by Kumaran for the paddleboarding section down to the sea. Spike, Shilpika and Kumaran became the first people to paddleboard down the Ganges, joined by three other European and American paddleboarders for different sections. Spike, who returned to
London two weeks ago, said: “We saw a large amount of wildlife, including the endangered
the person. The sharp rise was mainly driven by changes in recording in methods and including additional harassment offences. They included revenge porn – the “disclosure of private sexual photographs and films with the intent to cause distress or anxiety”;
and trolling – “sending letters with intent to cause distress or anxiety” – which also covers emails, texts and social media messages. Gun crime, domestic burglary, shoplifting and vehicle offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales were also up.
Mike 'Spike' Reid
Gangetic river dolphin, turtles, and a water snake too close for comfort, plus a wonderful plethora a birdlife. Luckily we had no close encounters with the three species of crocodile present or the Ganges shark.” The videographed journey, which will soon be made into a TV programme, was aimed at highlighting the problem of litter and promoting paddleboarding. Spike said they saw piles of litter along some sections of bank, particularly singleuse plastic such as cups. Spike was hailed a hero in 2011 after he shot a polar bear that attacked his group in Svalbard Norway, and killed Eton schoolboy Horatio Chapple, 17.