Bhubaneshwar – Ace Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj delivered a historic performance on the opening day of the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships in Naranpura, becoming the first Indian to win two or more continental medals in a single edition. The 24-year-old Olympian (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024) fulfilled the head coach’s pre-event medal projection by securing two silver and one bronze medal, signalling India’s return to the medal table after a 16-year gap. However, the results also highlighted the significant time-gap chasm between India’s top athletes and the elite Asian swimmers from nations like China and Japan.
Srihari Nataraj’s Individual Success and Time Gaps
Nataraj clinched his first silver in the Men’s 200m Freestyle, clocking 1:48.47 seconds. He finished 1.64 seconds behind the gold medalist, 17-year-old Chinese swimmer Xu Haibo, who timed 1:46.83 seconds. Although the time was short of Nataraj’s own national record of 1:48.22 seconds, the silver medal was a landmark achievement. He then made history by winning a second silver in the 50m Backstroke, clocking 25.46 seconds, just 0.35 seconds behind China’s gold medalist, Wang Gukailai (25.11 seconds).
Bronze in the Relay and Performance Gaps
Nataraj completed his historic haul by anchoring the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay team to a bronze medal, alongside Rishabh Das, Likith Selvaraj, and Benedicton Benison. The team’s time of 3:40.87 seconds placed them behind China (Gold, 3:36.93 seconds) and Chinese-Taipei (Silver, 3:39.40 seconds).
While Nataraj shone, results across other events underscored the overall performance gap. In the Women’s 200m Freestyle, 15-year-old sensation Dhinidhi Desinghu clocked 2:02.84 seconds, finishing fifth, 1.53 seconds behind China’s gold medalist. The most significant chasms were seen in breaststroke events: Danush Suresh in the men’s 200m Breaststroke was 10.35 seconds slower than the gold winner, and Thanya Shadakshari in the women’s 200m Breaststroke finished last, 15.07 seconds behind Japan’s gold medalist, highlighting the dominance of the East Asian nations in the pool. The championships, hosted at the newly-built Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, are a critical qualifier for the Asian Games next year in Nagoya, Japan.
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