Son of Rudramani and Dipti Putel, 14-year-old Sourav started his journey, under IIS/JSW swimming programme at the Balangir District Swimming Centre in 2022, under the guidance of first coach Naresh Pradhan. In March 2025, he was recruited to the Odisha IIS/JSW Swimming High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, where he is being guided by technical director Douglas Eager and coach Yurvesh Dubey.

Standard-IX student of PP Academy Government High School, Balangir, Sourav came to limelight, winning multiple medals at the Odisha State Sub-Junior Swimming Championships. He went on to bag one gold and one bronze medal at the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) National Championships 2025-26 in Delhi. His elder brother Somnath is also a state swimming medallist.

Congratulations started to pour in for Sourav, his parents thanked the State Government, IIS/JSW Swimming HPC and the Odisha State Swimming Association for providing all the support, guidance and encouragement to come thus far.

"Sourav is a heart-warming achievement for me. He is a quiet, unassuming and very hard-working guy, and I see a very bright future for him, both nationally and internationally. He is one of the many developing swimmers in the IIS program that can turn India from a "we were there country" into an aquatic medal winning nation,” said HPC technical director and Olympian Douglas Eager.
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TOP: Odisha swimmer Sourav Putel displays his gold medal at the Sub-Junior National Aquatic Championships in Jaipur on 6 August 2026.

RIGHT: Odisha gold medal winner Sourav Putel (Centre) poses with other two medalists at the Sub-Junior National Aquatic Championships in Jaipur on 6 August 2026.