Consul General of India in Los Angeles, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, applauded members of the SwimLife Orcas, a Masters swimming team from Bengaluru, on their remarkable feat of completing a double crossing of the Catalina Channel off the coast of Southern California.

The six-member team completed the demanding two-way Catalina Channel relay on September 10th and 11th 2026, in 29 hours and 24 minutes. Team leader claimed the feat represents only the 12th successful double crossing of the Catalina Channel since 1991 and the first by an Asian team.

Consul General Dr. Srinivasa appreciated the team’s physical endurance, mental resilience, discipline and exceptional teamwork, noting that their accomplishment was a matter of pride for India and the Indian community in the United States. He was proud that the team raised the Indian Tricolour on the shores of Southern California, completing an endurance challenge in one of the world’s demanding open-water environments.

The SwimLife Orcas were guided by Coach Satish Kumar Mohan, 49, Founder of SwimLife Academy, Vice President of the Swimming Federation of India and Secretary of the Karnataka Swimming Association. The six swimmers comprised Meghana Mayya, 48, Senior Director–Technology at Lowe’s India; Varuna Mayya, 43, Principal Technical Specialist at Nokia Networks; Sindhu Naropanth, 41, Senior Tech Program Manager at Walmart Global Technologies; Nikhil Mysore Manjunath, 35, Associate Director at LTIMindtree; Siddhartha Agarwal, 52, Founder of Bhoruka Park; and team captain Sumanth Naropanth, 45, founder of Indian cybersecurity companies Deep Armor and Gauntlet. The team brings together accomplished professionals from India’s technology and business sectors with extensive experience in Masters and open-water swimming.

The Catalina expedition tested the swimmers under formidable conditions. The channel stretches approximately 32 kilometres between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland, with currents, winds and ocean swells substantially increasing the effective swimming distance. The relay was conducted in one-hour rotations under Catalina Channel Swimming Federation regulations and was monitored by official observers.