Nisha Millet (born 20 March 1982) is a swimmer from Bengaluru,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. An Arjuna Award winner, she was the only woman in the 2000 Sydney Olympics swim team for India.

Career

Millet had a near-drowning experience at the age of 5 years, following which her father insisted she overcame her fear and learn how to swim. In 1991, Millet learned how to swim under the guidance of her father, Aubrey at Shenoynagar Club,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. By 1992, Millet had won her first state-level medal in 50m freestyle, in Chennai. Her parents moved to Bangalore to further her swimming training and career. She attended Sophia High School in Bangalore. In 1994, while still a sub-junior, Millet won all five freestyle gold medals at the Senior National Level and beat India's top swimmers. The same year, she also won her first international medal at the Asian Age Group Championships in Hong Kong. Millet represented India at the 1998 Asian Games (Thailand),

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(Perth 1999, Indianapolis 2004) and won medals for the country at both the

Afro-Asian Games The Afro-Asian Games were the series of inter-continental multi-sport competitions, held between athletes from Asia and Africa. These Games are one-of-a-kind, since no other sporting competition brings athletes from these two continents together ...

and

SAF Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic ...

. She was the only Indian athlete to win 14 gold medals at the National Games in 1999. At the peak of her career, Millet represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 200m freestyle, where she won her heat, but failed to qualify for the semi-finals. She was the first Indian woman to meet the B Qualification timings for the Olympics. After undergoing back surgery in 2002, she narrowly missed out on the 2004 Olympic qualification and decided to retire from competitive swimming due to the heavy financial burden on her parents. She credits a large part of her success to Pradeep Kumar at the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre. Millet held the national record/Best Indian performance in the 200m and 400m freestyle for 15 years, ending in 2015. She also holds the distinction of being the first female Indian swimmer to break the one-minute barrier in the 100m freestyle.

Awards

* Prime Minister's award for best sportswoman of the national games - 1997 and 1999. * Highest Gold medals (14) in sports in the Manipur National Games - 1999 * Arjuna Award given to highest sports person in India - 2000 * Rajyotsava Award - 2001 * Karnataka State Ekalavya Award - 2002 * Afro-Asian games, women's backstroke Silver medal - 2003

References

External links

*
Nisha Millets Home Page
1982 births Living people Indian female swimmers Indian female freestyle swimmers Indian female backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of India Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Bangalore Sportswomen from Karnataka Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Ekalavya Award South Asian Games medalists in swimming South Asian Games gold medalists for India 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people {{India-swimming-bio-stub

Career

Awards

See also

References

External links