Bhubaneswar: A 13-year-old girl, Jiya Rai, suffering from Autistic spectrum disorder has set a new record by swimming across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanuskodi in Tamil Nadu. In the process, Jiya covered a distance of 29 km in 13 hours and 10 minutes on Sunday.
Jiya is the daughter of Master Chief of Arms of INS Kunjali. She became the youngest and fastest female swimmer in the world to swim across the Palk Strait. The previous record was held with Bhula Chowdhary who covered the distance in 13 hours and 52 minutes in 2004.
The swimming commenced at 4.22 am on Sunday from Talaimanar and concluded at Dhanushkodi at 5.32 pm. The event was conducted and guided by the Para-Swimming Federation of India (PSFI).
When Jiya was a little over two years old, she was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. A few months later her doctor noticed that her repetitive knocking could be purposely applied in water sport as therapy.
Lankan Navy provided the search and rescue (SAR) cover to Jiya while swimming in Lankan waters while the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard ensured her safety in Indian water. Goa Shipyard Ltd provided financial support for this event.
Jiya is the world record holder in the open water swimming. She is on a mission to become the first and youngest para swimmer in the world to swim seven oceans. In February 2021, Jiya became the youngest (12 years) and first girl with an autistic spectrum disorder to swim 36 km in 8 hours and 40 minutes from the Worli sea link to Gateway of India.
