India, April 18 -- What began as a naive childhood belief that swimming could help her grow taller has now placed Delhi University's Kamya Bhardwaj in the record books. A second-year student of BSc (Hons) Zoology at Dyal Singh College, the 19-year-old completed a non-stop round trip across the Palk Strait. Standing at 4 feet 11 inches, she swam 54km from India's Arichalmunai to Sri Lanka's Talaimannar and back in 18 hours and 15 minutes, beating the previous record of 19 hours and 20 minutes held by Sujitha Dev Varman. She tells us, "Having started swimming to grow my height when in class IV, which did not really work (laughs), I went professional at 13. But due to repeated injuries, I had given up swimming. It was my dad who quit his job and persisted. He told me I could complete the Palk Strait mission, and he was right." While the strait has depths under 330 feet, the swim was anything but easy. High tides, strong opposing currents, and the constant threat of jellyfish stings tested her endurance. Her journey began at 1.30pm on April 12 from Arichalmunai. She reached Oormala in Talaimannar at 10.35pm and, without much pause, began the return leg, swimming through the night. At night, Kamya faced one of her toughest moments: "I was attacked by a marine fish, most likely a jellyfish, while swimming at night. The pain was such that I felt I could not go on. A rescue medical team put vinegar on it, gave me painkillers, yet the pain was still there. But, there I had this determination that I could do it." At 7.45am on April 13, she returned to Arichalmunai, greeted by cheering supporters and officials. Now home, the focus shifts quickly. "I would like to achieve many more such feats, but for now, I have to go to college tomorrow and submit my assignments as there is a deadline."...