Ganguly showcases his mettle to clinch 400m medley

Shoan Ganguly gave a good account of his potential as he secured the men’s 400m medley title with an ‘India best’ performance on the concluding day of the National aquatics championships at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre here on Thursday.

Shoan, who claimed the 200m medley crown with an ‘India best’ time the other day, made it a delectable double by winning the 400m medley gold with a time of 4:24.64. Ganguly, who led after 300m, withstood the challenge from Advait Page and Aryan Nehra, who held the National record at 4:25.62, before hitting the touchpad first. His second record breaking performance earned him the ‘best swimmer’ honour along with Dhinidhi Desinghu.

“This is my best time in two years in my main event. I thank Page and Nerha for pushing me,” said Ganguly.
A day after winning the 200m backstroke, Rishabh Das claimed his second gold amid a keen contest between four swimmers. He clocked his personal best of 56.13 over 100m.

Rishabh’s training mate from Mumbai, Heer Shah held his nerve to clock 51.29 and bag his maiden crown in men’s 100m freestyle.

Bhavya Sachdeva picked up her third gold medal as she won the women’s 800m title. Vihitha Nayana Loganathan (100m backstroke) and Harshitha Jayaram (100m breaststroke) won their second crowns.

Altogether 14 new records were set in the championships.

The results (winners only): Men: 100m freestyle: Heer Shah (Mah) 51.29; 100m backstroke: Rishabh Das (Mah) 56.13; 100m breaststroke: Likith Selvaraj Prema (SSCB) 1:03.06; 400m medley: Shoan Ganguly (Kar) 4:24.64 (NMR, Old 4:25.62, Aryan Nehra, 2023).
Women: 800m freestyle: Bhavya Sachdeva (Del) 9:09.67; 100m backstroke: Vihitha Nayana Loganathan (Kar) 1:05.18; 100m breaststroke: Harshitha Jayaram (RSPB) 1:13.24.

Best swimmer: Shoan Ganguly (men) and Dhinidhi Desinghu (women) (2 NMR and ‘India best’ performances apiece); Team championships (men, women and overall): Karnataka.