Navi Mumbai: Sibling duo Parth Patil (13), who has Down syndrome, and Adi Patil (7) from Uran swam about 18 km through turbulent waters in the Arabian Sea from Elephanta Caves at Gharapuri to Nagaon-Pirwadi Beach in Uran on Saturday, with the latter becoming the youngest swimmer to complete the sea route.While the younger brother Adi completed the route in five hours and 56 minutes, the elder Parth finished the show in six hours and 57 minutes.Parth is also believed to be the first student with Down syndrome in Maharashtra to complete the route in an impressive time.Parth studies at Seabird Special School in Uran, while Adi is a student at St Mary’s Convent School, Uran. They began training at a swimming pool in Uran and have been practising for over four years with support from their coaches and parents to achieve bigger feats in open water sea swimming trysts.The brothers have previously participated in district-level competitions organised by Uran Municipal Council and Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association, winning medals in various events before preparing for long-distance sea swimming along the Uran coast.Sea-swimming coach and international swimmer Santosh Patil guided them for the challenge on the high seas, while Vijay Behera trained them in the swimming pool on a daily basis. Sunil Mayekar and Nil Labde served as observers to oversee the event, with windsurfing gold medallists Raj Patil and Sai Patil also supporting the effort.Their parents Nishant and Sampada keep supporting the duo in swimming training and their overall development with limited resources. The brothers aim to compete in larger swimming events and represent the country. “Both are good in academics and sports as well. This feat has motivated them to try bigger goals in the coming days,” said their parents.
