It turned out to be a double celebration for a Mumbai-based boy, Dwit A. Nandu, who celebrated his 10th birthday by setting a new record as the youngest scuba diver in the world.
Nandu, who is a grade four student at St. Francis D'Assisi High School, is now a certified Junior Open Water Diver.
The world record was awarded to him on Friday by the Australia-based Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) which is the world's largest ocean exploration and diving organization. It is operational in 186 countries, and issues certifications to divers around the world.
The certificate issued by the instructor Riyas Jalal, reads, “Dwit has completed his Scuba Diver Course on his 10th birthday on August 24, 2023, diving to the depth of 40 feet and finished his PADI Junior Open Water Diver Course on August 25, 2023 at around 8 a.m."
Thrilled and overjoyed by Nandu’s new feat, his father, Dr. Amit Nandu, took to social media and wrote, “Hats off to my boy Dwit who showed remarkable patience, composure and hard work to complete this long journey. Being a diver myself, I can say that at a tender age of 10 years, to achieve what he did calls for unparalleled grit and determination.”
As per PADI rules, the minimum age for a certified open diver is 10 years. Nandu, when he was still nine, set himself on a mission to make a world record and enrolled at a diving school in Mumbai and Pondicherry.
In just one year, Nandu devoted himself to an intense training program.
It included mastering advanced swimming techniques, swimming 200 meters effortlessly, studying five comprehensive modules, acing a written exam based on those modules, undergoing confined water training in a swimming pool, and finally completing four open water dives.
10-Year-Old Boy From Mumbai Becomes World’s Youngest Certified Scuba Diver
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