The Hindu : Sport : Poncha, Magavi emerge champions

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Poncha, Magavi emerge champions

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Triumphant smiles: The winners in the State senior aquatic championship at K C Reddy swim centre in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: Rehan Poncha once again stepped on to the podium to receive the ‘best swimmer’ award at the State senior aquatics championship which concluded at K.C. Reddy Pool here on Saturday.

He has done that for sixth time and as he admitted later, “this is getting to be bit routine.”

Rehan Poncha bagged the individual title in the men’s section with a whopping 685 points, 500 of which came for breaking the National record in the 100m backstroke on the first day.

He also set three meet marks and finished with a tally of five individual golds.

On the concluding day, Poncha won a gold in 200m butterfly, bettering his own meet mark of 2:08.80s , clocking 2:07.74s , though well below his national best of 2:01.40s.

Besides Rehan, N.A. Sandeep (50m backstroke), Aaron D’Souza (100m freestyle) and J.P. Arjun (50m breastroke) also established new records on the final day.

Arhatha Magavi, the 14-year-old rising star of the National aquatics, won her maiden senior women’s individual title with 83 points and she also won her fifith gold (200m butterfly) and a silver (100m freestyle) in the concluding session.

Basvanagudi Aquatic Centre retained its overall title with 603 points, winning the men’s team title with 277 points and the women’s with 326 points.

In diving, T. Anil Raj was the individual champion with 17 points while in the women’ section, Karishma Mohite of Young Challengers SC and Nammi Divya Theja of DAC shared the honours with 12 points each.

Though the meet witnessed over a dozen records, the poor turn out in some of the events should be cause for concern to the State Association.

Quite a few races had just two swimmers in the fray and there were no takers for women’s high board diving, which was scrapped.

The results: Men: 100m freestyle: 1. Aaron D’Souza (BAC, 52.63s. NMR, Old: 52.20s); 2. Ashwin Menon (KCR, 53.54s BMR); 3. N.A. Sandeep (BAC. 54..73s, BMR); 400m freestyle: Aaron D’Souza (4:14.63s); 2. A.P. Gagam (BAC); 3. Srinand Srinivas (BAC); 50m backstroke: 1. N.A. Sandeep (28.19s, NMR, Old: 28.24s); 2. Ashwin Menon; 3. Poorna Chandra (BAC).

50m breaststroke: 1. J.P. Arjun (BAC, 30.08s, NMR, Old: 31.69s); 2. Aditya Roshan (KCR); 3. Akash Rohit (KCR); 200m butterfly: 1. Rehan Poncha (BAC, 2:02.74s, NMR. Old: 2:08.80s); 2. Aaron D’Souza; 3. Srinand Srinivas (BAC).

4x100m medley relay: 1. BAC ‘A’ (4:03.16s, NMR, Old: 4:13.31); 2. KCR ‘A’; 3. BAC ‘B.’

Women: 100m freestyle: 1. Shikha Tandon (KCR, 1:00.38s); 2. Arhatha Magavi (BAC); 3. Shubha Chittaranjan (BAC); 400m freestyle: 1. Sushaka Pratap (BAC, 4: 47.36s); 2. Navya G. Shenoy (BAC); 3. Kshipra Mahajan (BAC); 50m backstroke: 1. Shikha Tandon (32.62s); 2. Sameeksha Alva (BAC).

50m breaststroke: 1. Perna S. Jain (BAC, 38.21s); 2. V. Tejeswini (BAC); 3. Jessica Bole (BAC); 200m butterfly: 1. Arhatha Magavi (2:25.68s); 2. Pooja R. Alva (BAC).

4x100m medley relay: 1. BAC ‘B’ (4:46.12s, NMR, Old: 4:47.88s); 2. BAC ‘A’ (4:47.84s, BMR); 3. KCR.

Diving: High board: Men: 1. K. Kumar (DAC, 226.55 pts); 2. T. Anil Raj (MEG); 3. S.S. Sudeesh (MEG).

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