It all started with a moment on the couch. Ten-year-old Shreshta Chandra, originally from Thiruvananthapuram and now living in Dubai, was watching a documentary with her father when she spotted scuba divers gliding past turtles and sharks. She turned to him and said, “I want to do that.”

Most kids might have forgotten such a passing whim. But Shreshta followed it right down to the ocean floor.

Today, she’s the youngest certified scuba diver in the UAE—and the second youngest in the world for 2025. Not a bad start for someone who just turned double digits.

“When I found out, I was literally jumping with joy! It felt like I’d just earned a superpower certificate,” she said after completing the grueling PADI Junior Open Water Diver course at Bermuda Diving Centre in Dubai. There, she trained for a week, learning the ropes—mask drills, rescue skills, equipment checks—before making her big dive off the coast of Jumeirah.

Her first underwater dive? “It was floaty, quiet… like a different world, truly surreal. Just me, the bubbles and the fish. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The mask removal drill was the hardest. Water went up my nose and I panicked. But my instructor stayed calm. I kept trying till I could do it. Now, after all that practice, I feel amazing because I finished the course and got my certification," Shreshta said.

Even better? She did it with her 13-year-old sister Sloka. The pair now hold the distinction of being the first sister duo in the UAE to be certified scuba divers.

“She’s only ten, but she was focused and brave,” said Sloka. “Scuba diving brought us closer. Underwater, we had to rely on each other completely. It felt like we shared this secret superpower.”

For Shreshta, the journey wasn't without fear. The deep sea, the unknown, the pressure—it’s a lot to take in at ten. But with the guidance of instructors, supportive parents and her sister by her side, she powered through.

Their father Satish admitted he was worried at first. “The instinct to protect kicks in hard when your child says they want to dive into deep water,” he said. But watching Shreshta’s focus and commitment made him rethink. So much so, he joined his daughters in getting certified.

Seeing his girls gear up and check each other's equipment before each dive left him emotional. “It wasn’t just about the title,” he said. “It was the courage, discipline and sisterhood.”

Now, Shreshta has her eyes set on bigger waters. “I want to dive with sharks in the Red Sea and see the coral reefs in the Philippines. Sharks are so graceful—not scary like in the movies,” she said.