Teenage Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu and her Karnataka state-mate Shoan Ganguly emerged victorious in the National Aquatics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre on Monday. Desinghu secured the women’s 200m freestyle title, while Ganguly claimed the men’s 200m medley crown, both achieving ‘India best’ times in their respective events.
Desinghu, who had a less-than-ideal performance on Sunday, rebounded strongly. The 15-year-old clocked 2:02.97, surpassing her two-year-old meet record. She comfortably led after the first 50m, expressing relief and happiness post-race, “I felt a little nervous. I’m happy I did well in my main event.” Her time is just shy of the World Championships ‘B’ qualification mark of 2:02.37.
Ganguly, despite a slower time of 2:09 at a state meet a month ago, intensely trained under his father and coach, Surajit Ganguly, to achieve a time of 2:04.34. He shared his excitement, stating, “I targeted ‘India best’ time and am thrilled to achieve that.”
Other Notable Wins
M.S. Yadesh Babu secured his maiden National title in the men’s 50m breaststroke with a personal best of 28.35. Yadesh attributed his success to consistent training.
In the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay, the Karnataka team—comprising Rujula S., Latisha Mandaana, Akash Mani, and Tanish George Mathew—clinched the gold medal with a new meet record of 3:41.18. Tamil Nadu took silver after Maharashtra, which initially finished second, was disqualified.
Finally, the Tamil Nadu team of Pramiti Gnanasekaran, Yadesh, B. Benedicton Rohit, and Deeksha Sivakumar earned top honors in the 4x100m mixed medley relay, also setting a new meet record.
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