Aalam 1st to qualify for World C'ships in SM5 200m individual medley
Born in the nondescript village - Rathaus - of Madhubani district of Bihar, swimming came naturally to a young Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh as the area was prone to floods during monsoon. Surrounded by rivers - Kamla in the east and Dhauns and Bachraja of Nepal's Adhwara group of rivers that flow into the state in the west - every child of Rathaus, just 30km south of the India-Nepal border, takes to swimming as a survival skill early in life.
