Karnataka’s Shaon Ganguly has clinched the gold in the 400 metre Individual Medley as he clocked 4 minutes 24.64 at the 78th Senior National Aquatics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Madhya Pradesh’s Advait came second at 4 minutes 26.90 seconds while Gujarat’s Nehra finished third with a timing of 4 minutes 30.35 seconds.
Ganguly set the new Meet Record and improved on the National Record of 4 minutes 25.62 seconds held by Aryan Nehra, which he set in Hyderabad in 2023. Ganguly also bettered the Indian best in the 200 metre Individual Medley, surpassing Sajan Prakash’s 2023 mark.
In the 100 metre backstroke battle, Maharashtra’s Rishabh Das finished ahead of Utkarsh Patil by 16 microseconds. Rishabh surged ahead to touch in at 56.13 seconds while Utkarsh came second in 56.29. Karnataka’s Akash Mani came third in 56.35 seconds in the event. Earlier, Rishabh had shattered Srihari Nataraj’s national meet record and best Indian time, in men’s 200 metre backstroke, achieving the World Championships B qualification time.
In the Men’s 100 metre freestyle, Heer Gitesh Shah of Maharashtra clinched the gold medal in 51.29 seconds. Karnataka’s Tanish George Mathew was second in 51.30 seconds, while Maharashtra’s Rishabh Das came in third with a timing of 51.43 seconds.
Rohit Benediction also made the world championship qualifying time with a 24.11 seconds in 50 butterfly, claiming the gold and another best Indian time in the process.
Overall, Karnataka finished on top of the medals tally with 41 medals — 16 gold, 11 silver, and 14 bronze. They dominated the women’s section with 10 gold, four silver, and five bronze medals. Tamil Nadu finished second in the standings with 16 medals, including eight gold and five silver medals, while Maharashtra finished third with 17 medals, five of which were gold.
