Sandeep Divgikar is a swimming coach of repute while younger brother Pradeep is the General Secretary of the Greater Mumbai Amateur Aquatics Association (GMAAA). The Divgikar siblings were initiated into the sport by their father.Recalls Pradeep: ``Our dad wanted us to be sportsmen of repute and human beings who could command respect. He used to tell us, `by 16 I want people to say you are good sportsmen and by 20 I want you'll to win the Arjuna Award.' ''

The Senior Divgikar's dream of having an Arjuna Award winner in the family was realised when Sandeep married Smita Desai -- one of the top swimmers the country has produced.

Sandeep's first plunge into the pool was in diving. He later shifted to swimming before taking to waterpolo, where heearned copious laurels. As a player, Sandeep fondly remembers Maharashtra's win over Railways champion waterpolo team in the 1971 Ahmedabad Nationals.

``The best part of it all was that Railways had fielded the same side that had won a silver at the '70 Bangkok Asian Games,'' he recalls with pride.Sandeep's influence rubbed on his younger brother. ``Sandeep has always been a motivator. For me, it all started with trying to emulate him,'' reminisces the 42-year-old Pradeep.

But Smita, a chemistry professor at Ruia College, shocks you when she says that she first entered the pool more out of default than interest. ``I wasn't really interested in swimming but joined the MGMO only because it was very near my house,'' she recalls.

Apparently she took an inordinately long time to learn swim. ``While other kids learnt in weeks, I took almost seven months. And I remember during those days Sandeep and his pals would stand by the poolside and have a hearty laugh seeing me learn swimming,'' reminisces the ArjunaAwardee.

But it was swimming that brought Sandeep and Smita close. It was during a training camp for officials, prior to the '82 Asiad in New Delhi, which saw their relationship blossom.

Married for 15 years now, the couple have two sons, Varun and Advait, both of whom have shown keen interest for the sport in which their parents excelled. ``But we just want them to be good sportsmen, disciplined and good human beings,'' Smita opines.

A value that finds Pradeep in agreement. Pradeep, incidentally, has two sons -- Sushant and Karan with the former showing an early aptitude for waterpolo. Karan, the younger kid, ``is inseparable from the pool,'' says Bharti, Pradeep's wife.

Interestingly, Bharti is the only member of the family who does not know to swim. Originally a basketball player from Karnataka, Bharti's claim to fame has been her vast collection of stamps, Olympics being her subject. A philatelist of international distinction, her collections have also made it to the Seoul Olympics where she wenton to win a medal.

It's Bharti who single-handedly manages the kids, especially their sports lives. A fact even Pradeep accepts: ``I am not able to give much time to my kids. And if it were not for Bharti, I don't think I could have managed the GMAAA activities too.''

But Bharti has no complains. ``Wherever we go, people tell me what a good job Pradeep has been doing and that's very satisfying,'' says Bharti.

Sandeep, a full time swimming coach at Bandra's Otters Club and a busy man conducting clinics for players and coaches throughout the city, chips in: ``The administration now is very much player-friendly. During our times we could not even dream of having such cordial relationships with the association bosses.''