Sanjeev makes a big splash

PMSC swimmer bags two gold as Karnataka continue domination

Sanjeev R was the surprise star of the day for Karnataka, sweeping home two gold medals as the defending champions dominated proceedings yet again on a rain-lashed evening at the 40th Junior National Aquatic Championship here on Thursday.

Amidst dark clouds and driving rain that never ceased since the morning heats, the 13-year-old PMSC swimmer outshone his more illustrious team-mates, triumphing in the Group II 800M freestyle and 200M butterfly events at the Gachibowli Stadium.

Sanjeev, who won just one relay silver in the last edition at Chennai, set the ball rolling in his opening event of the evening, the 800M freestyle which was held in time trial format. In command from the very beginning, the teenager swam a near-perfect race, holding the lead at every turnover before covering the 16-lap race in a new national record timing of 8:51.02.

Maharashtra’s Ishaan Jaffer and Aryan Makhija finished second and third respectively. Jaffer bettered the meet record after clocking 8:57.57 and Makhija timed 9:05.22.
While Sanjeev was the biggest winner of the day with his two gold-medal effort, Karnataka also took another big step in their bid to extend the 20-year-old winning streak, bagging five more golds, one silver and three bronze.

Mitesh Manoj Kunte nailed his second gold in as many days, surviving a close fight from State-mate Mohammed Yaqooib Saleem in the Group I 1500M freestyle race. Almost nothing separated the duo for the better part of the punishing 30-lap race as they kept exchanging the lead.

With the crowd egging them on, Mitesh produced that vital late burst of energy, touching the pad first at 16:45.54. Yaqooib, who won a silver on Wednesday, finished second best once again, stopping the clock a tenth of a second slower than Mitesh while Raj Bhanadia of Gujarat finished third at 17.09.00. Mitesh also won a bronze in the 200 butterfly event.

SP Likith, who won a gold on Wednesday, added another to his tally, winning the Group I 50M breaststroke while fellow Karnataka mates Manav D (Group II 50M breaststroke) and Damini K Gowda (Group II 200M butterfly) expectedly triumphed.
Talented Neil Contractor from Gujarat emerged the fastest swimmer of the meet, romping home in 24.80 seconds in the Group I 50M freestyle event. Maharashtra’s Viraj Prabhu (24.96) and Tamil Nadu’s P Mukundhan (25.18) won the silver and bronze respectively.

Results: Swimming: Boys: Group I: 50M freestyle: Neil Contractor (Gujarat) 24.80 seconds, 1; Viraj Prabhu (Maharashtra) 24.96, 2; P Mukundhan (Tamil Nadu) 25.18, 3.
1500M freestyle: Mitesh Manoj Kunte (Karnataka) 16:45.54, 1; Mohammed Yaqooib (Karnataka) 16:45.64, 2; Raj Bhanvadia (Gujarat) 17:09.00, 3.
50M breaststroke: Likith SP (Karnataka) 30.89, 1; Neil Contractor (Gujarat) 31.51, 2; Raoul Rajani (Maharashtra) 31.70, 3.
200M butterfly: Supriya Mondal (West Bengal) 2:06.51 (NR; Old: 2:09.07, Arjun Murlidharan, Maharashtra, 2004) 1; Bobby Rana (Delhi) 2:08.55 (BMR) 2; Mitesh Manoj Kunte (Karnataka) 2:13.14, 3.
Group II: 50M freestyle: Saumya Vora (Maharashtra) 26.32, 1; Jerry D’Mello (Goa) 27.31, 2; Sidharth Sankhe (Maharashtra) and S Abhishek (Tamil Nadu) 27.52, 3.
800M freestyle: Sanjeev R (Karnataka) 8:51.02 (NR; Old: 9:01.41, Aaron D’Souza, Karnataka, 2006) 1; Ishaan Jaffer (Maharashtra) 8:57.57 (BMR) 2; Aryan Makhija (Maharashtra) 9:05.22, 3.
50M breaststroke: Manav D (Karnataka) 33.09, 1; Nithyaanand S (Tamil Nadu) 33.71, 2; Austin Varghes Sunil (Chhattisgarh) 33.81, 3.
200M butterfly: Sanjeev R (Karnataka) 2:17.63, 1; Shivaksh Sahu (Chhattisgarh) 2:22.63, 2; Vedant Khandeparkar (Maharashtra) 2:24.54, 3.
Girls: Group I: 50M freestyle: Shivani Kataria (Haryana) 27.30 (NR; Old: 27.49, Talasha Prabhu, Goa, 2010) 1; Avantika Chavan (Maharashtra) 27.70, 2; Rhea Castelino (Andhra Pradesh) 28.49, 3.
400M freestyle: Monique Gandhi (Maharashtra) 4:30.71 (NR; Old: 4:34.04, Surabhi Tipre, Maharashtra, 2010) 1; Aakanksha Vohra (Maharashtra) 4:33.07 (BMR) 2; Malavika V (Karnataka) 4:36.23, 3.
50M breaststroke: AV Jayaveena (Tamil Nadu) 34.88, 1; Harleen Kaur (Punjab) 37.25, 2; Chahat Arora (Chandigarh) 37.79)        
200M butterfly: VKR Meenakshi (Tamil Nadu) 2:25.16 (NR; Old: 2:25.44, Rujuta Bhatt, Maharashtra, 2012) 1; Rujuta Bhatt (Maharashtra) 2:26.04, 2; Simran Deepak M (Karnataka) 2:33.83, 3.
Group II: 50M freestyle: Maana Patel (Gujarat) 28.28, 1; Gitanjali Pandey (Gujarat) 29.02, 2; A Kaavyashri (Tamil Nadu) 29.47, 3.
400M freestyle: PM Abishiktha (Tamil Nadu) 4:45.15, 1; Neha Prasad (Maharashtra) 4:53.63, 2; Nikita Bhaiya (Tamil Nadu) 4:56.15, 3.
50M breaststroke: Sara Joshi (Chhattisgarh) 37.40, 1; Yashna Vummidi (Tamil Nadu) 38.16, 2; Jaya Shekhawat (Rajasthan) and Aditi Nazare (Maharashtra) 38.35, 3.
200M butterfly: Damini K Gowda (Karnataka) 2:28.51, 1; Trisha Karkhanis (Maharashtra) 2:35.68, 2; Nikita SV (Karnataka) 2:43.54, 3.
Waterpolo: Boys: Maharashtra: 7 bt Madhya Pradesh: 0; West Bengal: 5 bt Karnataka: 1; Kerala: 4 bt Punjab: 1.
Girls: Kerala: 2 bt West Bengal: 0; Karnataka: 8 bt Manipur: 0; Maharashtra: 8 bt Andhra Pradesh: 0.