Haldwani, Jan 29 (IANS): Karnataka's swimmers made a powerful statement on the opening day of the 38th National Games 2025 here on Wednesday, clinching five gold medals and setting a new meet record at the Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex. The state took the honours on the first day of competitions thanks to top stars like Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu besides the men's and women's freestyle relay teams which helped Karnataka take the honours.
Dhinidhi was the star performer as she bagged three gold medals -- two in individual events and one in relay, and also set a national record.
Karnataka’s Srihari Nataraj led the charge, securing gold in the 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:50.57, finishing ahead of compatriot Aneesh S Gowda (1:52.42) and Kerala’s Sajan Prakash (1:53.73).
In the women’s 200m Freestyle, rising star Dhinidhi Desinghu from Karnataka smashed the National Games record, clocking 2:03.24 to take the gold. Delhi’s Bhavya Sachdeva finished second with 2:08.68, while Maharashtra’s Aditi Satish Hegde clinched bronze in 2:09.74.
In the men’s 100m Butterfly, Tamil Nadu’s Benediction Rohit edged out the competition to win gold in 53.89 seconds, narrowly missing the Games record. Maharashtra’s Mihir Ambre took silver in 54.24, while Kerala’s Sajan Prakash finished third in 54.52.
In women’s 100m Butterfly, Karnataka continued their dominance as Dhinidhi secured her second gold of the day in 1:03.62. Teammate Naisha Shetty bagged silver with 1:04.81, and Odisha’s Shristi Upadhaya took bronze in 1:05.20.
The Karnataka men’s team of Akash Mani, Chinatan S Shetty, Aneesh S Gowda, and Srihari Nataraj set a new meet record (3:26.26) to win gold in the men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay. Tamil Nadu finished second in 3:29.92, followed by Gujarat in 3:32.23.
In the women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay, the Karnataka squad of Nina Venkatesh, Shalini R Dixit, Latiesha Mandana, and Dhinidhi Desinghu clinched gold in 4:01.58, ahead of Maharashtra (4:02.17) and Tamil Nadu (4:08.81).
With Karnataka dominating the medal tally in swimming, the team has set a high benchmark for the days ahead. The action continues on Thursday with more thrilling races expected in the pool.