Sharath M. Gayakwad is an Indian Paralympic swimmer from Bengaluru. At the 2014 Asian Games, he broke P.T. Usha`s record for most number of medals by an Indian at any multi-discipline event, by winning 6 medals.

Early Life of Sharath M. Gayakwad
Sharath M. Gayakwad was born in Bengaluru in 1991 with a deformed left hand. He attended the Little Flower Public School in Bangalore, where his parents were initially apprehensive of sending him to mandatory swimming classes because of his disability. However, he eventually took up swimming classes at the age of 9 along with the rest of the class. Soon after that, he was to be seen participating in various swimming events for the disabled.

Early Career of Sharath M. Gayakwad
In 2003, trainer John Christopher spotted him swimming at a school event, and ended up training Sharath for 7 years. Christopher explains that Sharath M. Gayakwad was the first paralympic swimmer he had coached, and that Sharath had to work a lot on maintaining equilibrium, because of his deformity. He attended Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College for high school studies, where he was given a fee concession and given encouragement for training.

Career of Sharath M. Gayakwad in 2009
Sharath Gayakwad has represented India at various national and international swimming events. He won two gold, four Silver and one Bronze at the IWAS World Games, 2009.

Career of Sharath M. Gayakwad in 2010 Sharath M. Gayakwad won a Bronze medal clocking one minute and 20.90 seconds at the 2010 Asian Para Games, Guangzhou, China. The performance also enabled Sharath to qualify for the Paralympics scheduled to be held in London in 2012. He was ranked No. 13 in the world in his category in 100m Breaststroke event in this year.

Career of Sharath M. Gayakwad in 2012
Sharath M. Gayakwad is the first Indian swimmer to achieve the qualifying time for London Paralympics, 2012. He has also won 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals at the 2011 International Deutsche Meisterschaften (IDM) Swimming Championships in Berlin, Germany. Sharath is also the Asian record-holder in his category in two events - 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke. In 2012, GoSports Foundation sent Sharath M. Gayakwad to a high-performance training camp ahead of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Career of Sharath M. Gayakwad in 2014
Sharath M. Gayakwad ended up winning 6 medals in Asian Games. This was the highest tally of medals by an Indian at the Asian Games. This record was previously held by PT Usha who won 5 medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. Sharath Gayakwad won silver in 200m Individual Medley (SM8), bronze in Men"s 100m Butterfly (S8), bronze in Men"s 100m Breaststroke(SB8), bronze in Men"s 100 Backstroke(S8) and a bronze in 50m Freestyle(S8). His 6th medal was a bronze in the Men`s 4x100 Medley Relay.

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