Miss Jiya Rai of Navy Children School (Mumbai) Swims Across Palk Strait in Record Time

Jiya Rai, daughter of a senior sailor of the Indian Navy, Madan Rai, MC-AT-ARMS II of INS Kunjali, and a student at Navy Children School, Mumbai, brought laurels to India by swimming across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) to Dhanuskodi (India), a distance of 29 km, in 13 hours and 10 minutes on 20 March 2022. A child with autism spectrum disorder, she achieved the feat at the age of 13 years and 10 months, becoming the youngest and fastest female swimmer in the world to swim across the Palk Strait. The record was earlier held by Bula Chowdhary who swam the distance in 13 hours 52 minutes in 2004.

The event was conducted by the Para Swimming Federation of India (PSFI) with cooperation from many agencies including the Swimming Federation of India, Sports Development Authority, Tamil Nadu and the Autism Society of India. The Goa Shipyard Ltd. provided the swimmer financial sponsorship for the event.

During the event, the Sri Lankan Navy provided search and rescue cover in Sri Lankan waters while the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard provided similar support in Indian waters.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh congratulated Jiya Rai and her parents on this achievement.

Jiya Rai is a recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Purashkar – 2022.