H S BEDI / New Delhi
Karnataka’s National Record Holder Srihari Natraj won two more Gold medals (50m backstroke & 100m freestyle) to take his final tally from the pool to six gold and one silver as the swimming competition of inaugural Khelo India School Games came to an end.
While Srihari dominated the Boys section, Firdoush Kayamkhani of Delhi won four gold in the Girls section at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Indoor Swimming Pool Stadium
Srihari’s tussle against Neel Roy of Maharashtra in the 100m freestyle was a delight but the former pulled away at the end to win by 0.29 seconds, clocking 53.07 seconds.
On the final day, he also won the 50m backstroke, which took by almost a second in a race where the fight was for minor medals. Goa’s Xavier Michael D’Souza (27.80s) took the silver, while Tanmay Das (Delhi) and Soumyajit Saha (West Bengal) were in a dead-heat in 28.62 and both were awarded bronze medals.
In the girls section, Annie Jain of Delhi won the 100m freestyle in 1:01.49s and also the 50m breaststroke in 35.49s to take her week’s tally to four hold.
Firdoush’s win in 200m butterfly also gave her four gold medals, the same as Annie, while Suvana Bhaskar won the 50m backstroke for her third gold medal. She also had two silver medals in the competition besides two more in relays.
Madhya Pradesh’s Param Padam Birthare in Boys 200m butterfly and Manipur’s Maibam Mangalsana in 50m breaststroke were the only ones to break Karnataka and Delhi’s stranglehold on the final day.
Photo Caption: (L-R) Neel Roy (silver), Srihari Nataraj (gold) and Xavier Michael D’Souza (bronze) pose with their medals with Union Home Minister Kiren Rijiju during the Khelo India School Games.
Results:
Boys:
100m freestyle: 1. Srihari Nataraj (Karnataka) 53.07 seconds; 2. Neel Roy (Maharashtra) 53.36; 3. Xavier Michael D’Souza (Goa) 54.63.
200m butterfly: 1. Param Padam Birthare (Madhya Pradesh) 2:08.70; 2. Prasiddha Krishna (Karnataka) 2:14.07; 3. Sanskar Tokas (Delhi) 2:14.86.
50m breaststroke: 1. Maibam Mangalsana Meitei (Manipur) 31.84 seconds; 2. Tanish Kaswan Nayasar (Delhi) 32.11; 3. Aryan Kedare (Maharashtra) 32.51.
50m backstroke: 1. Srihari Nataraj (Karnataka) 26.89 seconds; 2. Xavier Michael D’Souza (Goa) 27.80; 3. Tanmay Das (Delhi) and Soumyajit Saha (West Bengal) 28.62.
Girls:
100m freestyle: 1. Annie Jain (Delhi) 1:01.49; 2. Shivangi Sharma (Delhi) 1:02.00; 3. Khushi Dinesh (Karnataka) 1:02.86.
200m butterfly: 1. Firdoush Kayamkhani (Delhi) 2:33.18; 2. Anubhuti Barua (Delhi) 2:33.88; 3. Saachi G (Karnataka) 2:34.73.
50m breaststroke: 1. Annie Jain (Delhi) 35.49 seconds; 2. Aaliyah Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 35.53; 3. Saloni Dalal (Karnataka) 35.99.
50m backstroke: 1. Suvana C Baskar (Karnataka) 32.12 seconds; 2. Aaliyah Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 32.34; 3. Tanisha Malviya (Delhi) 32.32.
Overall:
Best swimmer: Boys: Srihari Nataraj (Maharashtra)
Best Swimmer: Girls: Suvana Bhaskar (Karnataka)
Team: 1. Karnataka; 2. Delhi; 3. Maharashtra