Rehan Poncha

Rehan Poncha
Personal information
Full nameRehan Jahangir Poncha
National team India
Born (1986-08-03) 3 August 1986 (age 38)
Karnataka, India
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, backstroke, butterfly, individual medley
College teamJain University

Rehan Jahangir Poncha (born 3 August 1986) is an Indian former swimmer, Olympian, Arjuna Award winner and a six-time national champion, who specialized in backstroke, butterfly, and individual medley events. He is also the recipient of the Eklavya Award from the Karnataka Olympic Association.[1] He is a 6-time Indian swimming champion, and a 6-time record holder in the butterfly (both 100 and 200 m).[2] Poncha also set two of his records in the freestyle and medley relays at the 2009 Asian Swimming Championships in Foshan, China, along with his teammates Sandeep Sejwal, Virdhawal Khade, and Aaron D'Souza.[3]

Poncha qualified for the men's 200 m butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by clearing a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:01.40 from the Telstra Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia.[4][5] He edged out Peru's Emmanuel Crescimbeni to take a second spot in heat 1 by 0.24 of a second in 2:01.89. Poncha failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fortieth overall in the preliminaries.[6] He has agreed to be a mentor for Indian Collegiate Athletic Program to support the future athletes and guide them to excel in swimming. He started his own academy known as swim smart with Rehan Poncha

Rehan completed his education in Jain University located in Bangalore.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rehan Poncha". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Rehan Poncha, Richa Mishra the best". The Hindu. 11 October 2009. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Sejwal rues missing out on a silver medal at Asian swimming". The Indian Express. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Rehan Poncha confident of putting good performance in Beijing". Oneindia.in. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Poncha crosses Olympic 'B' qualifying mark in Sydney event". Outlook India. 5 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Men's 200m Butterfly Heat 1". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Where Champions are Created". Newindianexpress.com. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
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