Ajmer: Manjari Bhargava, a champion diver and swimmer who won several gold medals representing India and was conferred with the Arjuna award in 1974, died at the age of 68 on Tuesday. Born in Ajmer in 1956 to MK Bhargava, who served as principal of Government College of Ajmer, and Uma Bhargava, she was the granddaughter of late Justice PL Bhargava.
Vipul Bhargava, the second and youngest son of Manjari, told TOI on phone, "My mother had a tumor in brain and she underwent surgery last year. However, recently, there was a recurrence of the tumor and she died at home while living with me in Pune Tuesday night." Manjari became the national champion in diving at the age of 12 and set new records in her first performance. She won the Best Diving Cup BET Trophy each from 1970 to 1974. She became captain of the Indian diving team in 1974.
She completed her schooling in Ajmer and was trained in swimming by Raj Laxmi and in diving by Bhanwar Singh. Later, she married a marine engineer, had two sons, and then settled in Mangalore.
Suresh Mathur, who taught at Mayo College when Manjari came there to train at the school's swimming pool—the only one in Ajmer at the time—said she was very enthusiastic about a career in swimming and diving even though there were hardly any women prominent in the field.
Durga Prasad Agrawal, a former lecturer at Govt College of Sirohi, where Manjari worked for some time as a lecturer of history, said, "She did not need to give her introduction, because we all knew she was a swimmer and diver."