It's a gesture that cannot be clearly equated to any particular emotion. A loose closing of the fist, a brush of the chin and a light punch to the chest. Muttering a prayer, some self-encouragement — the words are hard to decipher really. Virdhawal Khade allows himself that one personal moment in a race before stepping up on the block, just before he begins to entertain the audience with his strokes and the rare spectacle of an Indian beating a fleet of South Africans and Australians.

Pune took to Khade over the last three days of CYG like, well, Khade took to water some years ago. The frenzy is hard to explain, and harder to contain, and in his final solo 50 m freestyle event at Balewadi here on Friday, the sheer din in the stadium resulted in the race taking off a little late as the competitors struggled to hear the start signal.

The last time a swimmer generated such hysteria would probably have been at Khazan Singh’s medals at the Asian Games, or Sebastien Xavier’s various nationals. But in Khade, the Indians have struck a rare swimming hero, as his three gold medals, three silvers and two games records would show.

What’s more, Khade even loves the attention. Competing in his first major meet at home after his trip to the Olympics and the few ripples he caused at the world youth meet in Mexico, the 17-year-old has thrived in the adoring spotlight of his home audience. Lesser men would have felt the heat, he chose to braggingly announce the ambition of five medals before the event.

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