Arati Saha

At 53 years old, Arati Saha physical status not available right now. We will update Arati Saha's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Between 1945 and 1951, she won 22 state-level competitions in West Bengal. Her main events were 100-metre freestyle, 200 metres breaststroke and 300 metres breaststroke. She came second only to Dolly Nazir of Bombay. In 1948, she participated in the national championship held at Mumbai. She won silver in 100 metres freestyle and 200 metres breast stroke, and won bronze in 200 metres freestyle. She made an all-India record in 1950. At the 1951 West Bengal state meet, she clocked 1 minute 37.6 seconds in 100 metres breaststroke and broke Dolly Nazir's all-India record. At the same meet, she set the new state-level record in 100 metres freestyle, 200 metres freestyle, and 100 metres backstroke.

She represented India at the 1952 Summer Olympics along with compatriot Dolly Nazir. She was one of the four women participants and the youngest member of the Indian contingent at the age of 12. At the Olympics, she took part in 200 metres breast stroke event. At the heats she clocked 3 minutes 40.8 seconds. After returning from the Olympics, she lost in 100 metres freestyle to her sister Bharati Saha. After the loss, she concentrated only on breast stroke.

She used to participate in long-distance swimming competitions in the Ganges. Arati was inspired to cross the English Channel by Brojen Das. At the 1958 Butlin International Cross Channel Swimming Race, Brojen Das became the first among the men and earned the distinction of being the first person from the Indian subcontinent to cross the English Channel. Greta Andersen, a Danish-born female swimmer from the United States, clocked 11 hours and 1 minute and stood first among both men and women. She proposed the name of Arati to the organizers of the Butlin International Cross Channel Swimming Race for the next year's event.

Dr. Arun Gupta, the assistant executive secretary of Hatkhola Swimming Club took the initiative in organising Arati's participation at the event. He organised exhibits of Arati's swimming prowess as part of a fundraising programme. Jamininath Das, Gour Mukherjee and Parimal Saha also provided their help in organising Arati's trip. At this point, Sambhunath Mukherjee and Ajay Ghoshal took up the matter with Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the Chief Minister of West Bengal. He arranged a grant of ₹ 11,000. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India also showed interest in Arati's endeavour.

While the logistics of her trip were being arranged, Arati began swimming for long hours. On 13 April 1959, Arati swam continuously for eight hours at the pond in Deshbandhu Park. On 24 July 1959, she left for England along with her manager Dr. Arun Gupta. She started her final practice in the English Channel on the 13th of August. During this time, she was mentored by Dr. Bimal Chandra, who was also participating in the 1959 Butlin International Cross Channel Swimming Race.

A total of 58 participants including five women from 23 countries took part in the competition. The race was scheduled for 27 August 1959 at 1 am local time from Cape Gris Nez, France to Sandgate, England. However, the pilot boat of Arati Saha did not arrive in time. By 11 am, she had swum more than 40 miles and came within 5 miles of the England coast. At that point, she faced a current from the opposite direction. As a result, by 4 pm, she could only swim about two more miles, before she had to quit.

Arati prepared herself for a second attempt. Her manager Dr. Arun Gupta was ill, but she carried on with her practice. On 29 September 1959, she made her second attempt. Starting from Cape Gris Nez, France, she swam for 16 hours and 20 minutes, battling tough waves and covered 42 miles to reach Sandgate, England. On reaching the coast of England, she hoisted the Indian flag. The prominent Indian politician Vijaylakshmi Pandit was the first to congratulate her.

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