Seventeen-year-old visually impaired swimmer Ishwari Pande from Nagpur created history on Monday by becoming the world’s first completely blind swimmer to cross the Palk Strait from Sri Lanka to India.She began her record attempt at 4 am from Urmalai Point near Talaimannar in Sri Lanka and completed the journey at 3:15 pm, reaching Arichalmunai in Dhanushkodi. Ishwari covered the challenging stretch in 11 hours and 15 minutes.

Facing strong ocean currents, changing tides and even jellyfish during the swim, she displayed remarkable endurance and mental strength throughout.Daughter of Kamlesh and Aruna Pande, Ishwari has consistently excelled in open-water swimming.

Blind since birth, she has become a powerful symbol of determination and resilience.Her attempt was monitored by officials including M Vijayakumar from the Para Swimming Federation of India, Jayakumar from the Tamil Nadu Open Water Swimming Association, and observer Sukhdev Dhurve.The historic swim was organised by the Shark Aquatic Sporting Association, Nagpur.

Ishwari was guided by her international coach Sanjay Batwe and supported by expert swimmers Bhavi Rajgire, Ishant Pande, Sandeep Vaidy, Nirav Pandiy and Dr Abhay Rajgire.

Source: https://thelivenagpur.com/2026/04/07/nagpurs-ishwari-becomes-first-blind-swimmer-to-cross-palk-strait/