The 77th Senior National Aquatic Championships kicked off in Mangaluru with remarkable performances and record-breaking feats. Karnataka’s Hashika Ramachandra made a stunning start by breaking a 13-year-old national record in the women’s 400m freestyle. (More Sports News)
Hashika clocked a time of 4:24.70 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 4:25.76 held by Jharkhand's Richa Mishra.
In the men’s 400m freestyle, Karnataka’s Aneesh S Gowda secured the top spot with an impressive time of 3:56.59 minutes. Meanwhile, Dhanush Suresh of Tamil Nadu clinched the gold in the men's 200m breaststroke, finishing in 2:18.85 minutes.
On the second day, Karnataka continued its dominant run. Srihari Natraj won the men’s 100m freestyle with a time of 50.59 seconds, narrowly beating Anand As of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), who finished in 50.77 seconds.
In the women's 100m freestyle, Bihar’s Mahi Swetraj emerged victorious, clocking 58.54 seconds, with Shivangi Sarma (RSPB) and Aditi Satish Hegde (Maharashtra) tied for second at 59.17 seconds.
A new record was set in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, with the Tamil Nadu team of Pramiti Gnanasekaran, Dhanush Suresh, B Bendection Rohit, and Deeksha Sivakumar clocking 4:05.30 minutes, beating Maharashtra's 2023 record of 4:06.84.
Maharashtra's team this year, comprising Rishabh Anupam Das, Saanvi Deshwal, Mihir Ambre, and Aditi Satish Hegde, finished second at 4:07.14.
Telangana's Vritti Agarwal led the women’s 1500m freestyle from start to finish, touching the pads at 17:45.63, while Karnataka's Shirin followed closely in second place with a time of 17:50.61.
In the men’s 800m freestyle, Karnataka’s Aneesh S Gowda dominated from the very first lap, winning with a time of 8:20.01. He was followed by teammate Dharshan S, who finished at 8:27.69.
The women's 200m medley saw a thrilling finish as Tamil Nadu's Shreenithi Natesan surged in the final 50 meters of the freestyle lap to claim first place at 2:25.52, narrowly beating Karnataka's Hashika Ramachandra, who clocked 2:25.84.
In the men's 200m medley, Vinayak Vijay of SSCB and Sridhar Siva of Karnataka traded leads throughout the race, with Vinayak eventually taking the gold at 2:07.73, followed by Sridhar at 2:08.31.
Punjab's Avni Chhabra emerged victorious in the women's 50m breaststroke, finishing first with a time of 33.76 seconds, just ahead of her teammate Chahal Arora, who finished in 33.80 seconds. In the men's 50m breaststroke, Karnataka’s Vidith S Shankar secured a narrow win with 28.62 seconds, followed by M S Yadesh Babu of Tamil Nadu, who clocked 28.67 seconds.
The mixed 4x100m freestyle relay saw Maharashtra snatching victory from Tamil Nadu in the final lap. Maharashtra's team, composed of Deepti Raghunath Tilak, Heer Gitesh Shah, Aditi Satish Hegde, and Rishabh Anupam Das, finished at 3:43.13. The Tamil Nadu quartet of Adhithya Bala Ponni K, B Bendection Rohit, and Deeksha Sivakumar took second place with a time of 3:43.85.
