Inspired England, egged on Milan and Maryland, London somersaults from Manipur to Fukuoka

Inspired England, egged on Milan and Maryland, London from Manipur will make an appearance in Fukuoka on Friday with a daunting target in front of him – Paris.This isn’t some sort of a fantasy world tour. Instead, it encapsulates the whirlwind journey of the lone diver from India who will compete in the World Aquatics Championship – a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics – in the Japanese port city, starting July 14.H London Singh, a 23-year-old diver from Manipur, will make his World Championship debut when he competes in the 1m springboard event on Friday. The two-time national champion will return five days later, on July 19, to take part in the 3m springboard.
In a heavily neglected sport where the country has no tradition and little to show for, two events within one week on a big, international platform is a rare privilege for an Indian diver. And for London, it doesn’t end here – in a little over two months, he’ll be wearing Indian colours again when he travels to Hangzhou for the Asian Games.
“It’s unbelievable,” he says. “We don’t even have two domestic competitions in a year. And now, I have a chance to take part in two major international events.”
But for all the flips and spins, take-offs and landings he executes over the next few days, London is acutely conscious about what he’s going to be asked about the most. “I know my name is unique,” he smiles. “My father kept my name.”
A driver who is fond of travelling, London says his father Surchandra named four out of his five children after countries and cities. “We are four brothers and one ser. The eldest of us has a ‘normal’ name, Anil,” London says. “The second is named England; the third is Milan, after the Italian city, and the fourth, my ser, is named Maryland.”
London once asked his father, a driver, the story behind keeping these names. “He said it was his wish to travel to all these places. Ironically, his name is very normal.”
Academically inclined as a child, London began swimming for fitness reasons when he saw a bunch of young men in the diving area next to the pool. Among them was England, his elder brother, so London gravitated towards diving.
“I fell flat a couple of times but found the sport very interesting. So, I told England I wanted to continue diving and for the next six months, I practised every day.”
The daily hard work paid off when London got picked for the Sports Authority of India’s diving programme, where he spent two years and made his national-level debut.
But soon, he was confronted with the harsh realities of the sport in India – there was no equipment, no coaching, no infrastructure and barely any competitive exposure. “When I was in Manipur, my performances weren’t great since there was no one to guide me,” London says.
Hailing from Manipur, London Singh trains at the Army Sports Institute in Pune. (PHOTOS: Amit Kamath)
So, in 2012, after competing in a couple of nationals, he got admitted to the Boys Sports Company at the Madras Engineering Group in Bangalore. And a year later, he moved to the Army Sports Institute in Pune, the most dominant unit in national-level diving.
“A major reason why diving exs as a sport in India is because of the ASI,” says London’s coach M Kunjakishor Singh, a former national champion. “It’s the only place with a diving programme, has the necessary infrastructure and brings in foreign experts. And this shows in the performances, all national champions are from the ASI.”
London is the latest in the assembly line of national champions that the Army has produced. But being the undisputed best in India is vastly different from being competitive at a world level, let alone being a contender for the final.
3.5 somersault tuck
With his trademark reverse 3.5 somersault tuck, a standard men’s dive, London sounds confident of being more than competitive in Fukuoka. He executes the dives effortlessly during training at the ASI a couple of weeks before leaving for the World Championships.
But he knows it’ll be a different ball game once he stands on the springboard, with the spotlight on him and being surrounded the world and Olympic champions.
“Little things matter. For instance, all Indian divers practice outdoors. Everywhere else, it’s indoors. The feel of the venue is different, the water feels different… so to suddenly go and compete indoors is not easy,” London says.
And then, there’s the lack of competition, which gives rise to confidence issues. Domestically, Indian divers have just one fixed tournament every year – the National Championship. With the sport not ranking high on the priority l of the government and the swimming federation, international exposure is rare.
The last time London competed outside India was also his first time – back in 2017, in Indonesia. “We haven’t competed a lot, so confidence is an issue,” London admits. “What I have noticed is divers from other countries take part in events all year round. So, their competition fear is very less.
“In India, there aren’t many competitions even at a national level. Until we compete, how can we learn or understand where we lack?”
In Fukuoka, London hopes to ‘closely observe the training and competition routines of the Olympic medalls and learn from them’. And if he has a nerveless and flawless day, then even push them as far as possible, improve the best Indian performance (33rd Siddharth Pardeshi four years ago in 10m platform).
“My target is to be in the top 12 and qualify for the final,” he says. “If that happens, I will also qualify for the Olympics in Paris. It’s my first major competition. So, let’s see. I will give my best.”
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A daunting dive
H London Singh hopes to qualify for the final of the World Championship and thus qualify for the Olympics. But it won’t be easy.
India’s best diving performance at the World Championship came four years ago when Siddharth Pardeshi finished 33rd in the 10m platform. Last year, Pardeshi dropped to 33rd place and he’s right now in Canada as a part of the world federation’s scholarship programme, preparing for the Asian Games.
Coach M Kunjakishor Singh says London can flawlessly execute the reverse 3.5 somersault but on the day, his take off from the board, the somersault movement and finishing will be the key to score points.