When Khajan Singh Tokas ended India’s 35-year wait in swimming at 1986 Asian Games
When Khajan Singh Tokas stepped onto the starting block for the men’s 200m butterfly at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, he carried the weight of a 35-year wait. Just over two minutes later he had rewritten Indian swimming history. For a brief moment, the arena seemed to fall away. He became the first Indian swimmer since 1951 and seventh overall to make the podium. “I remember after winning the medal I was so happy. After a gap of 35 years, I got a medal for India, a silver medal,” Khajan Singh told The Bridge on Wednesday. Putting his nostalgia into words, Khajan goes back to the quiet confidence that began building long before the final dive. A strong swim in the heats had already given him the confidence that a medal was possible. “When I swam my heat in the morning and qualified for lane 5, I was very sure in the evening that a medal was there. But whether it is gold, silver, or bronze that depends on the final swim,” the now 62-year-old …
