Srihari Nataraj Makes History with Two Silver Medals at Asian Aquatics Championships

Ace Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj made a significant impact on the first day of the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships. He secured silver medals in both the 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke events, becoming

the first Indian to achieve two continental medals in one edition. This marks India's first medal at this elite competition in 16 years.

Despite her efforts, India's promising teenage swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu narrowly missed a podium finish in the women's 200m freestyle. She finished fifth with a time of 2:02.84 seconds after advancing from Heat 1. China's Luo Mingyu won gold in this event with a time of 2:01.31 seconds.

Srihari's Record-Breaking Performance

Srihari clocked 1:48.47 seconds in the 200m freestyle, finishing behind China's Xu Haibo, who completed the race in 1:46.83 seconds. Although Srihari couldn't surpass his national record of 1:48.22 seconds, he still managed to secure a silver medal. Japan's Hinata Ando took bronze with a time of 1:48.73 seconds.

In the 50m backstroke, Srihari clinched another silver by clocking 25.46 seconds. Rishabh Das followed closely with a time of 25.98 seconds, while China's Wang Gukailai claimed gold with a timing of 25.11 seconds.

Other Indian Performances

India's head coach Nihar Ameen had anticipated winning three to four medals at this continental event, and Srihari's performance set a positive tone for the team. Earlier this year, Srihari set a national record in the 100m freestyle at the FISU Summer World University Games in Germany.

Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda competed in Heat 4 but did not qualify for the final, finishing fourth with a time of 1:52.62 seconds. Meanwhile, Bhavya Sachdeva was unable to advance beyond the heats, clocking 2:08.74 seconds.

Challenges Faced by Indian Swimmers

In men's 200m breaststroke, Danush Suresh finished seventh with a time of 2:19.81 seconds, while China's Haiyang Qin won gold with a timing of 2:09.46 seconds. Thanya Shadakshari finished eighth in women's 200m breaststroke, clocking 2:41.43 seconds as Japan's Mana Ishikawa took gold with a time of 2:26.36 seconds.

Benedicton Beniston narrowly missed a podium finish in men's 100m butterfly, coming fourth with a time of 53.04 seconds. Bikram Changmai ended up eighth with a timing of 54.53 seconds, while Kuan Hung Wang from Chinese-Taipei secured gold with a time of 52.41 seconds.

Indian Contingent at the Championships

The women's 100m butterfly final saw Astha Choudhury and Shristi Upadhaya finish seventh and eighth respectively, clocking times of 1:03.50 and 1:05.45 seconds. A total of 40 Indian swimmers are participating at the newly-built Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura.

The Indian team has been training in Naranpura for the past month as part of their national coaching camp. Over 1,100 participants from 29 countries are attending this key event on the Asian Aquatics calendar, which also serves as a qualifier for next year's Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.

With inputs from PTI