It’s always delightful to witness realization of the maxim that signs of a person’s inclinations and potentials start to manifest from a tender age. Well, consider it a privilege to have a precognitive glimpse of their vocations while galvanizing our expectations of things to come. Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal reaffirms this realization with his splendid sporting talents.
Arvin is an “all-rounder” sportsman and an active member of his school’s football, water polo and badminton teams. He fences too. But it’s in swimming that he shows his sporting prowess. It’s all system’s go for Arvin where he is hyped as one of the brilliant young talents in the Malaysian swimming circuit. A Sagittarian and born in 2000, Arvin Phelps, as he is known to his peers, is a ‘chosen” few in a new generation of swimmers. He learned swimming at age 7 and progressed into competitive swimming by 9. A student of Cempaka International Schools, Arvin’s academic performance is way above average. He trains with the Cempaka Swimming Club under Ukrainian coaches Serhiy Palchikov and Nataliya Simak.
At the 2012 MSSS (Selangor School Sports), he dominated the proceedings and scooped up a total of 12 medals - of which 8 were gold; and went on to win 2 gold and a silver at the 2012 MSSM (Malaysian School Sports). Through Cempaka, Arvin has also competed internationally and won numerous medals and set records as well. Notably, these were in Thailand and Singapore. Commendably, Arvin has won numerous honours for his school and state and currently he represents Selangor at junior circuits. Though his favourite events are butterfly races, he nonetheless is competent and competitive in all the 4 swimming strokes. Hence, he is expected to excel in IM races in near future competitions.
Let’s take this opportunity to discover more about this fine young gentleman.
Born of mixed-parentage, Arvin is of Punjabi descent. What’s amazing about his outlook and comprehension is that he admittedly feels that he is an individual. Most kids would instinctively identify their ethnicity or be inclined to identify themselves with either parent. That is mighty matured considering his age. Cuisine is ever important for all of us so we asked Arvin what are his favourite foods. We discovered that Arvin is not particular or fussy with food. When pressed on for his favourites, he gladly obliged and without hesitation placed Western cuisine right at the top of his list. Next is Chinese. The same attitude goes for his dressing too. Basically anything that’s comfortable and looks nice is fine with him. Nevertheless, he does take formal dressing seriously when it matters. Still, everybody has favourites and Billabong surfing pants are Arvin’s preference.
Chivalry and dare are principal traits
of the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius and whose attributes are signified through
the brave mythological centaur aiming a bow and arrow. Arvin exudes these
traits and view sports as a challenge to “overcome and excel”. He has a
constructive and creative mind with a penchant for building things. Expectedly,
he aims to be an engineer upon graduation. From the spectrum of colours, bright
red seems to be his favourite. He loves the fieriness and veracity that red elucidates.
For music, his favourites are from the pop group - One Direction.
Arvin trains and competes in Arena suits and finds Arena to be an excellent brand. “They
fit and serve me very well” he expresses. He also finds Arena competition suits
to be marvellous for competitions. In imparting encouragement and advice to
other kids interested in or are pursuing competitive swimming, he has these
wise words to say. “Never give up
and do not listen to people who say you are not good enough - or that you are
too slow. Go for your goal. If you give up or say you cannot do it then you
definitely do not have a chance”.
Justifiably, Arvin is an illumination
and should serve as a beacon to attract more Indian youths to the sport of
competitive swimming – something which is emphatically encouraged.
