Impressive Madhavi, Gagan rule the pool

Karnataka swimmers continue to dominate

The Karnataka lad, who set a new record in the 1500 free on Wednesday, announted for another mark in the boys’ Group I section at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Vidyashram pool. Gagan clocked four minutes and 06.20 seconds in the 400M to erase the previous time of 4:10.06 which stood for two years in the name of Veerdhawal Khade of Maharashtra.

Soon after that, the 17-year-old was again in the thick of action, battling past State-mate Siddhant Deshmukh for his fourth gold of the meet in the 200 IM. Siddhant was quick off the block in the butterfly segment, closely followed by Gagan. Siddhant slowly increased his lead in the backstroke and further stretched the margin to more than a body length when he turned at the 150-mark. Gagan, a brilliant freestyle swimmer, put in that extra effort in the final leg and gradually snatched the initiative to touch the tape first in 2:25.38, pushing Siddhant (2:27.10) to the silver medal position. If Gagan can win the 800 free event on Saturday, then the Basavangudi Aquatic Swimmer is sure to take home the Bajaj Platina bike, awarded to the best swimmer of the meet.

Another Karnataka swimmer making a splash was Madhavi Giri. The 17-year-old has returned to form after a shoulder injury that took two of her best years away, winning four gold medals in the meet. She won the 200 backstroke (2:36.29) and the 200 individual medley (2:37.04) in girls’ Group I on Friday to add to the 100 and 200 fly golds won previously.

“For two years, a shoulder injury restricted my training, so I couldn’t perform well. Today I am extremely happy as I found my original form,” said Madhavi, who had a good chance to claim the best swimmer award and a TVS Scooty if she wins the 400 IM on Saturday.

Ananya Panigrahi timed 2:33.74 in the 200 backstroke for Group II girls to set a new national mark, eclipsing the old record of 2:33.88 set by Madhavi in 2005. With 35 gold, 18 silver and nine bronze medals, Karnataka are in the driver’s seat, with Maharashtra way behind after winning 14 gold medals.

Results: Boys: Group I: 400M freestyle: Gagan A P (Kar) 4:06.20, 1. NR. Old record: 4:10.06 (Veerdhawal Khade, Maharashtra, 2007); Akshay Krishna (Kar) 4:19.08, 2; Jaywant Vijayakumar (TN) 4:19.47, 3. 200M backstroke: Gopinath Kayal (WB) 2:19.49, 1; Ajeya Moghe (Mah) 2:20.29, 2; Abhinav S (Kar) 2:22.30, 3. 50M butterfly: Pulkeet Kumar (Har) 26.76, 1; K Divakar (TN) 27.35, 2; E Abhinav Reddy (AP) 27.46, 3. 200M individual medley: Gagan A P (Kar) 2:17.74, 1; Siddhant Deshmukh (Kar) 2:22.16, 2; N Arvind (TN) 2:23.34, 3. Group II: 400M freestyle: Shaun D’Souza (Kar) 4:27.57, 1; Ajay A 4:33.80, 2; Sachin Kumar Maurya (UP) 4:35.80, 3. 200M backstroke: Pranam B (Kar) 2:29.13, 1; Yudhisthir Jaising (Mah) 2:31.22, 2; Ratul Dhar (WB) 2:31.40, 3. 50M butterfly: Prajwal K S (Kar) 28.81, 1; Subhadeep Das (WB) 29.308, 2; Ranit Dey (WB) 29.57, 3.
200M individual medley: P Sandeep (TN) 2:25.47, 1; Sachin Kumar Maurya (UP) 2:27.92, 2; Ranit Dey (WB) 2:34.09, 3.

Girls: Group I: 800M freestyle: Navya G Shenoy (Kar) 9:46.59, 1; Srishti Tandon (Raj) 9:46.90, 2; Sushaka Pratap (Kar) 9:51.09, 3. 200M backstroke: Madhavi Giri (Kar) 2:36.29, 1; Heta Davey (MP) 2:36.61, 2; Jyotsna Pansare (Mah) 2:39.63, 3. 50M butterfly: Talasha Prabhu (Goa) 29.80, 1; U Aditi Malavika (TN) 30.45, 2; Monalisa Mondal (WB) 30.58, 3. 200 individual medley: Madahvi Giri (Kar) 2:37.04, 1; M M Venpa (TN) 2:39.31, 2; M Raghavi (TN) 2:40.14, 3.

Group II: 1500M freestyle: Medha C (Kar) 19.36.11, 1; Anusha Mehta (TN) 19:49.15, 2; Mena C (Kar) 20:07.38, 3. 200M backstroke: Ananya Panigrahi (Mah) 2:33.74, 1. NR. Old record: 2:33.88 (Madhavi Giri, Karnataka, 2005); Kavya Bhandekar (Mah) 2:38.04, 2; R Sushmitha (TN) 2:38.72, 3.
50M butterfly: Sneha T (Kar) 31.33, 1; Vandita Dhariyal (Guj) 31.39, 2; Rujuta Bhatt (Mah) 31.77, 3.
200M individual medley: Kanchi Desai (Mah) 2:35.36, 1; S Dharashini (TN) 2:41.69, 2; Priyanka Pridrshini (Dli) 2:45.29, 3.