Shikha Tandon is an Indian swimmer, hailing from Bengaluru. She has been the winner of 146 medals at national levels and 36 medals at various international competitions. This also includes 5 gold medals. In the year 2005 she has been honoured with the esteemed Arjuna Award. Starting her career at a young age, she has created many records at different competitions.
Early Life of Shikha Tandon
Shikha Tandon was born in the year 1985. She has attended Jain College and later studied biotechnology at Bangalore University. She also did her dual Masters degree in Biology and Biotechnology from Case Western Reserve University, Ohio. Presently she works as Science Program Lead at US Antidoping Agency, Colorado Springs, USA. She has a younger brother named Shobhit.
Career of Shikha Tandon
Shikha Tandon entered the sports arena at a very young age. At the age of 12 she was spotted at a state meeting. She was chosen for competing in two national events and she won a bronze medal. At the age of 13 she went on to compete in the Asian Games. She had her first World Championship when she was 16 years old. In the year 2001, at the 28th Junior National Aquatic Championship Shikha Tandon set a new record by winning the 200 m individual medley. In the following year at the Asian Games in Busan she finished 8th in the 100m freestyle event. She also competed at the 57th Senior National Aquatic Championship in 2003 in which she broke the Indian women"s 50 freestyle record, with a time of 26.61 s. In the competition she also bagged five individual gold medals and was also declared as the best swimmer for the third consecutive year. She competed in both the 50 m and the 100 m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics and became the first Indian swimmer to qualify for two separate events in an Olympic competition.
Shikha Tandon created several national records in the year 2005 and was credited as the first Indian woman to hold so many simultaneously. She reached the semi-finals of both 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. In the same year, she won bronze at the indoor Asian Age-Group Swimming Championships in Bangkok and also owned the fame of being the first female Indian to win an international medal for a short-course event. However in the year 2007 she underwent shoulder surgery for which she missed her participation in many events.
