Did Shaon Ganguly Break the Record in the 400m IM?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Shaon Ganguly sets a new national record in the 400m IM.
- Karnataka leads the medal tally with 41 medals.
- Rishabh Das narrowly wins the 100m backstroke.
- Heer Gitesh Shah surprises with a win in 100m freestyle.
- Several national records were broken during the championships.
Bhubaneswar, June 26 (NationPress) Shaon Ganguly shattered the previous best Indian time from 2024 in the 400m Individual Medley by clocking 4 minutes 24.64 seconds to secure the gold medal, surpassing both Advait Page and Aryan Nehra. This thrilling finish marked the conclusion of the 78th Senior National Aquatics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday.
Representing Karnataka, Ganguly not only set a new Meet Record but also broke the National Record of 4:25.62 previously held by Aryan Nehra, which was established in Hyderabad in 2023. Page finished in second place at 4:26.90, while Nehra from Gujarat took third with a time of 4:30.35.
The highlight of the evening's final session was the 100m backstroke showdown between Rishabh Das and Utkarsh Patil, where Rishabh edged out Utkarsh by a mere 16 microseconds.
Maharashtra's Rishabh finished at 56.13 seconds, while Utkarsh came in at 56.29. Karnataka's Akash Mani rounded out the top three with a time of 56.35 seconds in an event where the National Record stands at 55.10 seconds, held by Olympian Srihari Nataraj of Karnataka.
In the Men's 100m freestyle, Heer Gitesh Shah of Maharashtra stunned everyone with a remarkable finish, clinching gold in 51.29. Karnataka's Tanish George Mathew followed closely behind at 51.30, while Rishabh Das completed the podium in 51.43 seconds.
On Wednesday, Rishabh had already made waves by breaking Srihari Nataraj's national meet record in the men's 200m backstroke, clocking 2:00.65 and achieving the World Championships B qualification time. Nataraj's previous record was 2:02.29 set in Bhopal back in 2019.
Additionally, Rohit Benediction qualified for the world championship with a time of 24.11 in the 50m butterfly, securing gold and setting another best Indian time.
Overall, Karnataka dominated the medals tally with a total of 41 medals - 16 gold, 11 silver, and 14 bronze. They excelled in the women's section, attaining 10 gold, four silver, and five bronze medals.
Tamil Nadu finished in second place with 16 medals including eight gold and five silver, while Maharashtra secured third with 17 medals, five of which were gold.