When the World Aquatics Junior Championships begin on August 19 in Otopeni, Romania, India will enter with a quiet but growing sense of ambition.
For years, Indian participation in this event has been about exposure, about measuring up to the best, about chasing personal bests rather than podiums. But the class of 2025 looks different. Backed by record-breaking performances at home and led by an Olympic debutant, the 10-member squad represents a generation of swimmers that is slowly but surely changing the face of Indian aquatics.
The Otopeni Aquatics Complex, a state-of-the-art venue, will host more than 500 swimmers from over 100 nations across 42 events. For World Aquatics (formerly FINA), this biennial meet is a staging ground for tomorrow’s champions. The eligibility window 14–18 years for girls and 15–18 years for boys means that the talent on display will form the next wave of senior internationals, many bound for Los Angeles 2028 and beyond.
For India, which has never truly broken into the global swimming mainstream, the challenge is steep. But this squad, selected by the Swimming Federation of India after the 78th Senior National Aquatic Championships, offers genuine reasons for optimism.
A New Wave of Indian Talent
The most striking feature of this team is its balance. There are raw teenagers who have set junior records at state and national meets, and there are swimmers with international exposure, even Olympic experience. At the 78th Senior Nationals in June, seven national records fell an unprecedented number for a single meet in India. That wave of fast times convinced selectors that the next step had to be international exposure at the highest junior level.
The boys’ contingent of six features specialists across backstroke, butterfly, freestyle, and medley with Assam’s Jananjoy Jyoti Hazarika and Maharashtra’s Rishabh Anupam Das leading the way. The girls’ team, though smaller, carries the heft of India’s youngest Olympian, Dhinidhi Desinghu, alongside national record-holders like Rujula S in freestyle and Vihitha Nayana Loganathan in backstroke.
India Boys to Watch at World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships
Rishabh Anupam Das (Maharashtra) : Das arrives in Otopeni as India’s leading backstroker at the junior level. At the Senior Nationals, he clocked 2:00.65 in the 200m backstroke, narrowly missing the two-minute barrier that separates regional quality from world-class potential. A veteran of the 2024 Asian Age Group meet, Das knows the demands of international racing. His triple assignment 100m, 50m, and 200m backstroke will test his consistency across distances.
Jananjoy Jyoti Hazarika (Assam) : At 18, Hazarika is India’s best hope in butterfly sprinting. His win at the Khelo India Youth Games earlier this year underlined his versatility, and his 54.56 in the 100m butterfly at the Nationals showed he’s improving across strokes. With starts in both butterfly and backstroke in Romania, he will be among India’s busiest swimmers.
Dharshan S and Dhakshan S (Karnataka) : The two names of the two twin brothers may sound confusingly similar , but their events are distinct. Dharshan is a distance swimmer who has rewritten junior records in the 1500m freestyle and 200m butterfly. His endurance will be tested in the longer races, particularly against East Asian and European swimmers who traditionally dominate these events. Dhakshan, meanwhile, is India’s emerging middle-distance freestyler, fresh from a meet-record swim in the 400m freestyle at the Junior Nationals. His smooth technique and competitive temperament make him a name to follow.
Mongam Theerdu Samadev (Andhra Pradesh) : Samadev’s story is one of resilience. He lost his father to a road accident days before competition last year, but returned to the pool to win at the SGFI Nationals. That grit showed again when he posted a 1:57.51 in the 200m freestyle. He will swim both freestyle and medley in Otopeni, and while medals may be a stretch, his presence itself is inspiring.
Tirthank Pegu (Assam) : Another butterfly specialist, Pegu set the U18 national record in the 200m butterfly at 2:03.22 this summer. His rise has been rapid, and though his best times are still off world junior podium marks, the Championships will give him invaluable exposure.
India Girls Carry India’s Biggest Hopes at World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships
Dhinidhi Desinghu (Karnataka) : The headline act of the Indian team, Dhinidhi is already an Olympian at 15. She made her Games debut in Paris last year, and since then has gone from strength to strength. At the Senior Nationals, she broke her own 200m freestyle record (2:02.97) and became the first Indian woman under 57 seconds in the 100m freestyle. For Indian swimming, those numbers represent real progress. In Romania, she will swim the 100m, 200m, and 50m freestyle all sprint events where reaction time, underwater skills, and nerves matter as much as fitness. Her name will be the one most closely tracked.
Rujula S (Karnataka) : Rujula may not yet have the international reputation of Dhinidhi, but her 26.36 in the 50m freestyle at the Senior Nationals made her the fastest Indian woman ever. The record had stood for 17 years. Her raw speed makes her India’s dark horse in Otopeni. The challenge will be adjusting to the sharper competition curve in sprint freestyle, margins are microscopic.
Vihitha Nayana Loganathan (Karnataka) : Backstroke is another discipline where India is beginning to make gains, and Vihitha has been central to that. A sub-30-second swim in the 50m backstroke earlier this year marked her as one to watch. With starts in both the 200m and 50m, she offers India balance across sprint and middle-distance backstroke.
Saanvi Deshwal (Maharashtra) : At 14, Saanvi is already a breaststroke specialist of note. Her 34.32 in the 50m breaststroke at the Junior Nationals showed excellent promise. While breaststroke is traditionally one of the toughest strokes for Indian swimmers on the global stage, her presence is significant in broadening India’s representation across events.
A Landmark Opportunity
India’s participation in the Junior Worlds has often been about gaining mileage rather than chasing medals. In past editions, even reaching semi-finals was considered a success. But the performances at home this year seven senior national records and multiple meet marks at junior nationals hint at a shift.
This squad is not expected to challenge swimming powerhouses like the USA, Australia, or China. But a semi-final or final appearance, particularly from names like Dhinidhi, Rujula, or Das, would mark progress. Relay teams, though untested internationally, could also spring surprises if the splits align. For Indian swimming, where the conversation has long been about potential, this meet is about proof, proof that the new training methods, exposure trips, and domestic reforms are bearing fruit.
The Otopeni meet will conclude on August 24. For the Indian swimmers, it will be less an end and more a beginning. Many of them are just two or three years away from senior-level breakthroughs. The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics loom as the big target, and for India to be competitive there, results at junior worlds matter today. For now, the eyes of Indian aquatics will be fixed on Romania, watching a group of teenagers attempt to carry the nation forward. They are not burdened with expectation, but they are buoyed by momentum.
In that sense, the World Aquatics Junior Championships 2025 may not just be another meet on the calendar. For Indian swimming, it could be the moment where hope begins to harden into belief.
