Backstroke specialists P.S. Madhu (Services) and Maana Patel (Gujarat), who dominated the 68th edition of senior National aquatic championship by winning three gold each with two records to boot, were declared the best swimmers of the tournament after the final day of competitions here on Sunday.
Maana, the 14-year-old junior champion, tried her skills in 100m freestyle on Sunday and took bronze behind Aditi Dhumatkar (Maharashtra) and Shivani Kataria (Haryana).
In the men’s 200 individual medley, Madhu took gold, beating Incheon Asian Games bronze medallist Sandeep Sejwal.
“I want to translate my good showing in the Nationals to the international stage and am looking to train intensely to better my timing and get medals for the country,” said Maana, aiming to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
“Doing well in the Nationals is a big achievement and I am happy that I peaked at the right moment. It is now time for me to better my performance in the international forum. I will get back to my coaches to prepare for bigger events,” said Madhu.
Maharashtra became the overall champion dislodging Karnataka that had dominated that position for over a decade.
The results:
Men: 100m freestyle: 1. Aaron D’Souza (RSPB) 51.19s, 2. Anshul Kothari (Guj) 52.47, 3. Neil Contractor (Guj) 52.51. 800m freestyle: Saurabh Sangvekar (Mah) 8:14.65, 2. Sajan Prakash (RSPB) 8:14.76, 3. Sanu Debnath (RSPB) 8:36.53. 200m individual medley: 1. P.S. Madhu (SSCB) 2:09.28, 2. Sandeep Sejwal (RSPB) 2:11.35, M. Arvind (Kar) 2:11.35.
Women: 100m freestyle: 1. Aditi Dhumatkar (Mah) 58.81 (NR, Old: 58.91 by Shikha Tandon (Kar) in 2003), 2. Shivani Kataria (Har) 59.39, 3. Maana Patel (Guj) 1:00.34. 50m butterfly: 1. Jyotsana Pansare (Mah) 29.06, 2. Avantika Chavan (Mah) 29.78, 3. Shivani Kataria (Har) 29.88. 200m individual medley: 1. Richa Mishra (Pol) 2:26.95, 2. A.V. Jayveena (TN) 2:28.25, 3. Damini K. Gowda (Kar) 2:29.32.
Best Swimmers:Men: P.S. Madhu (3 gold, 1 silver and 2 records); Women: Maana Patel (3 gold, 1 bronze and two records).
Swimming team championship: Men: Railway Sports Promotion Board (175 points); Women: Maharashtra (141 points). Overallchampion: Maharashtra (215 points); Runner-up: Karnataka (175 points).
Diving: Best diver:
Men: K. Ramananda Sharma (SSCB, 2 gold and 2 records); Women: Simran Rajani (Mah, 2 gold). Team championship:Men: Services Sports Control Borad (30 points); Women: RSPB (29 points).
