Kutraleeswaran Ramesh, popularly known as Kutraleeswaran or Kutral, is an Indian swimmer. He swam across the Palk Strait, in April 1994. He swam across the English Channel in 1994 when he was 13 years old and in the same year, he swam across the Rottnest Channel in Australia, the Straits of Messina in Italy, the Zannone Circeo in Italy and the Ten Degree Channel to surpass Mihir Sen’s record of completing five channels in a calendar year. He received the Arjuna Award and the Guinness world record in 1996.
He is a hero of Indian sports, whose name has been totally forgotten. Kutral, eventually, got an offer from Italy to represent them in the Olympics. However, he didn’t hesitate to turn down the offer with grace. Before swimming across the English Channel in the year 1994, he swam across the Palk Strait.
For a 13-year-old, it was a phenomenal achievement and the entire country rejoiced for his feat. A total of 25 swimmers from across the world were selected for the World Series in swimming. Among them, Kutraleeswaran was the only Asian. He represented India in six global competitions and went on to win an event held at Switzerland.
This was recognized by the Indian government which bestowed him upon with the Arjuna Award in 1996, thus making him the youngest person to win the award at that time.
Despite things looking bright for Kutraleeswaran, he could not find a sponsor to support his career. His father had initially funded his training and his travel. His family approached their State government. However, he didn’t get the desired support.
Picture Credit : Google
