Not yet 16 years of age, Palak Sharma has had to change several schools to be able to pursue her passion for Diving. Last week, the Indore girl rewarded her parents for backing her by sweeping all three gold medals in the women’s competition in the National Diving Championships in the Sports Authority of India National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru last week.
Last year, she competed in the National Championships in Guwahati where she silvers in the Springboard events and bronze in the Platform contest and the National Games in Rajkot where she picked up a silver each in the 3m Springboard and 10m Platform events. These events made her enhance her physical and mental regimen and be ready to showcase her talent in Bengaluru.
On the 10m Platform, her score rose from 146.75 in Guwahati to 175.10 in Rajkot to 202.05 points in Bengaluru. The 3m Springboard scores moved from 154.45 in September 2022 to 176.65 in October to 181.60 points now. The 1m Springboard efforts fetched her 136.25 points in Guwahati and 171.30 now.
While the judging in Diving can be subjective and the scores tend to reflect that, Palak Sharma’s improvement was there for all to see. National Diving Coach Mayur Vyas, who has kept an eye on Palak Sharma’s evolution, says the plan is to get her ready to compete in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
“We have some plans for Palak to get better training,” he said, indicating that her performances in the past year have caught the attention of those whose hearts beat for a rare discipline. However, the road ahead of Palak Sharma is long and promises to be rather lonely should she get an opportunity to train away from Indore.
The good thing is that while she is unaware of the National Records in any of her three events, she knows that she is still some distance away from securing one. The Swimming Federation of India’s website does not list the National Records – or the Best Indian Performances, as it likes to call them (using the term National Record only for marks set in the National Championships).
It was gratifying for her that she beat established divers like Hrutika Shriram and Esha Waghmode (Railways) as well as Meghali Redkar (Maharashtra). “To be honest, I see my seniors perform their routines but I don’t watch them,” she says, indicating that she keeps an eye on their scores but does not pay much attention to how they execute their dives.
“I look at how to perform my dives the best I can and compete with myself each time,” she says. For someone who fell in love with Diving when she first saw someone else plunge into a pool from a height and who had to wait for years before she could compete in a national meet, Palak Sharma’s journey has been rewarding and promises to explore to unchartered territory.
The results (finals)
Women
Platform: 1. Palak Sharma (Madhya Pradesh) 202.05 points; 2. Esha Waghmode (Railways) 195.65; 3. Hrutika Shriram (Railways) 190.50.
1m Springboard: 1. Palak Sharma (Madhya Pradesh) 171.30 points; 2. Hrutika Shriram (Railways) 164.35; 3. Medhali Redkar (Maharashtra) 161.35.
3m Springboard: 1. Palak Sharma (Madhya Pradesh) 181.60 points; 2. Esha Waghmode (Railways) 152.85; 3. Hrutika Shriram (Railways) 152.75.
Men
Platform: 1. Sourav Debnath (Services) 291.90 points; 2. N Willson Singh (Services) 269.55; 3. Tushar Gitaye (Railways) 252.35.
1m Springboard: 1. H London Singh (Services) 348.40 points; 2. Surajit Rajbanshi (Services) 309.95; 3. Satish Kumar Prajapati (Uttar Pradesh) 303.95.
3m Springboard: 1. Surajit Rajbanshi (Services) 333.20 points; 2. Satish Kumar Prajapati (Uttar Pradesh) 288.50; 3. H London Singh (Services) 277.10.
