Roma Khanna, Mumbai: Not many know about synchronized swimming in India. But that hasn't deterred these five young girls between the age group of 10 to 16 to take up the sport.

It's exciting, its fun and its also the perfect way to beat the heat. Welcome to the world of synchronized swimming.

"It is fun. It's also tough, but then you feel good that you are achieving something," says Anoushka Merchant.

In Mumbai for the last 12 days, a group of five girls have been undergoing rigorous training under the tutelage of Leslie Sproule, a former Canadian gold medallist to improve their skills.

"For the first 2-3 days I couldn't even move. But now, I have become a bit flexible and I can do a few of the exercises. I think that also helped me in my swimming," adds Avanti Merchant Anoushka's sister.

"I can do both things now, I like to dance also, I can dance and swim both in this," Kavita Kolappkar says.

A mix of swimming, gymnastics and dance, synchronised swimming needs exceptional breath control underwater. And you need a team of eight for those ballet-like maneuvres.

The Canadian also took time to train coaches on how to judge the swimmers in the competition.

"To have a sustainable system, I think it is very important that you start everyone at the same time, build the officials up, build the coaches up, and the athletes so that hopefully, in the near future, we can host a national championship in synchronized swimming," says Leslie Sproule, the Olympian.

Endurance, flexibility and grace are the pre-requisites for this beautiful sport, but just the artistry won't help. It's still a long way to go for the sport in India.