Asian Games 2018: Illustrated history of Sachin Nag, the swimmer who won India's first Asiad gold in 1951

In the pantheon of Indian sports legends, the name of Sachin Nag is often forgotten. Hailing from Varanasi, Nag was a swimmer who earned India its first-ever Asian Games gold medal at the inaugural Asian Games in 1951. Nag’s career in swimming was pure happenstance. As a 10-year-old, Nag was fleeing policemen over a minor transgression. Running out of options, he jumped in the waters of the Ganga to avoid being caught. At that moment, a 10km race was on. Nag also started swimming with the participants and somehow ended up finishing third. That day set him on the course to be a swimmer. He went on to equal the 100m national record and shatter the 200m. His exploits also send him to the 1948 Olympics — India’s first as an independent nation. But it is really at the inaugural Asian Games — hosted by India — that Nag established himself as a legend. He won India’s first-ever gold medal at the Asiad — where 11 nations competed for medals in six disciplines — after winning the 100m freestyle event in a dead heat. And a legend was born. [caption id=“attachment_4960061” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Art courtesy: Rajan Gaikwad[/caption] This is the first part of Firstpost’s series on India’s heroes at the Asian Games.