Diving in Maharashtra

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Diving in India, Swimming Federation of India, Olympics.com — Mayur Vyas profile, India at the 2024/2025 World Aquatics Championships (Wikipedia). These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Modern
Category: Aquatic
Olympic discipline: Yes
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Olympic (TOPS eligible)
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 1

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: SFI
Ministry recognition: Swimming Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects
Olympic status: On the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Diving is listed on SportSupport in the aquatic category. Its recorded origin is Modern. It is on the Olympic programme. We list SFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Diving is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through SFI against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for diving athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether diving is among the covered disciplines.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to diving.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

1 profiles

Manjari BhargavaIndia
Manjari Bhargava (18 January 1956 – 5 November 2024) was an Indian diver. She was awarded Arjuna Award by Government of India in 1974 for excellence in diving. Bhargava hailed from Rajasthan state.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Competitive diving is contested from the 1m and 3m springboards and from the 5m, 7.5m and 10m platform, individually and as synchronised pairs. Each dive is declared in advance by its code — group (forward, back, reverse, inward, twisting, armstand), number of somersaults and twists, and position (straight, pike, tuck or free) — and carries a fixed degree of difficulty. A panel of judges scores each dive from 0 to 10 on the approach, take-off, flight and entry; the highest and lowest scores are discarded and the remainder multiplied by the degree of difficulty. Entries must be vertical and near-splashless, feet-first or head-first as the dive requires. Performing a dive other than the one declared, or failing to attempt it, scores zero, and synchronised pairs are additionally judged on how closely their timing, height and entry match.

Authoritative rulebook: SFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across aquatic sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced diving squad list.

Swimming
Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and medley events at set distances.
Diving
Springboard and platform events scored by a judges' panel.
Water polo
Seven-a-side team match played in a pool.
Artistic swimming
Judged routines set to music, solo, duet or team.
Open water
Long-distance racing in a marked open-water course.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in diving at a federation-recognised event.

1m and 3m springboards with adjustable fulcrum
5m, 7.5m and 10m rigid platforms
Diving pool at least 5m deep with a surface-agitation (bubble) system
Chamois towel, close-fitting competition swimsuit and cap
Dry-land training rig — trampoline, harness/spotting belt and foam pit
Electronic judging and scoring system with degree-of-difficulty tables

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Swimming Federation of India

Swimming Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Diving. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: Modern
Olympic: Yes
Paralympic: No
Category: Aquatic

SFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in diving.

National diving events
Administered by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) alongside swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo, contested at the National Games and SFI's national aquatic championships. The Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune has become the primary development pathway for India's current international divers.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in diving.

Asian Games
India's divers competed in 4 events at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games (Hemam London Singh and Siddharth Pardeshi) without winning a medal.
World Aquatics Championships
India has entered divers at recent editions as part of the national aquatics squad (4 competitors in 2024, 6 in 2025).

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for diving. The national championship under SFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised diving athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for diving maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in diving — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Wikipedia describes diving as 'a minor sport in India' — an honest characterization of where it currently stands relative to more established Indian disciplines
The Army Sports Institute (Pune) is the primary pathway producing India's current international divers, including Hemam London Singh (Manipur) and Siddharth Pardeshi (Maharashtra)
Two Arjuna Award-winning former divers — Bajrangi Prasad (1961) and Manjari Bhargava (1974) — are working alongside SFI and ASI to grow the sport
Officiating offers a genuine parallel career path: Mumbai's Mayur Vyas rose from national-level competitor and Railways clerk to become a FINA-certified international diving judge, serving at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

1 listed

Army Sports InstituteElite
Pune, Maharashtra · Since 2001
Indian Army's elite multi-sport institute producing Olympians and Asian Games medallists.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about diving in India.

Who governs Diving in India?▾

We list SFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Diving, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Diving an Olympic sport?▾

Yes, Diving is on the Olympic programme. Athletes selected by SFI against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding.

How do I start playing Diving in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under SFI. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Diving athletes?▾

TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Diving is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Diving does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Diving in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Diving in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.