All posts tagged: Srihari Nataraj

Srihari Nataraj qualifies for the Commonwealth & Asian Games in 50m backstroke

Srihari Nataraj qualifies for the Commonwealth & Asian Games in 50m backstroke

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Srihari Nataraj qualified for the 2026 Commonwealth & Asian Games in the 50m backstroke event with a solid run in the heats of the National Championships in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. He clocked a time of 25.21s to top the heats and comfortably breached the qualification mark of 25.34s for CWG and 25.39s for the Asian Games. He is the second Indian after Sajan Prakash (200m Butterfly) to achieve the Individual qualification mark for both the coming multisport events. He, however, marginally missed out on his personal best of 25.18s from 2021 but will be trying to breach that in the finals later in the day. Meanwhile, the youngster Dhinidhi Desinghu also started her individual campaign, clocking a good time of 2:03.72s to top the women’s 200m freestyle heats. In the finals, she will be aiming to set a new national record, breaking her own record of 2:02.84s. The Asian Games qualification mark in this event is set at 2:00.76s. More to follow… Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text …

Astha Choudhury sets Best Indian Time in 200m Butterfly at Singapore Nationals

Astha Choudhury sets Best Indian Time in 200m Butterfly at Singapore Nationals

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Astha Choudhury clocks a Best Indian Time in 200m Butterfly at the Singapore Nationals Age Group Swimming Championships on Tuesday. The 22-year-old improved on Apeksha Fernandes’ four-year record of 2:18.18s by more than a second, to finish second in the super final with 2:17.09s. She missed out on the gold medal in the overall section, finishing behind Japan’s Matsuura Yu (2:15.91s), but had a promising start to a very important year. However, Yu was competing mainly in the U17 category, and hence Astha also won a gold medal in the senior section, finishing at the top in the 18-and-over category. Earlier in the day, Astha clocked 2:18.37s in the preliminary round to finish first in her heat and qualify for the super final. Best Indian Time for Astha Choudhury at the Singapore National #Swimming Championships 🏊✨ She clocks 2:17.09 to improve on Apeksha Fernandes’ record of 2:18.18 in women’s 200m butterfly which was set 4 years ago. pic.twitter.com/qVh68IvDzl — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) March 17, 2026 India bagged 3 more medals on the day as Shirin …

Khelo India University Games 2025: Chandigarh University crowned champions

Khelo India University Games 2025: Chandigarh University crowned champions

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Chandigarh University rode on their stupendous performance in canoe and kayaking to successfully defend their overall championship crown at the 2025 Khelo India University Games on Friday. Chandigarh University finished their campaign with a total of 67 medals, including 42 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze. Lovely Professional University (LPU) ended their KIUG campaign as the runner-up with 32 golds, 25 silver and 22 bronze medals. Hon’ble Minister of State Smt. Raksha Nikhil Khadse graced the colourful closing ceremony at Poornima University as curtains came down on the 12-day multi-sport extravaganza. Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Dr Prem Chand Bairwa and Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of Rajasthan Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also attended the glittering function. Chandigarh University won 23 out of the 30 gold medals on offer in Canoe and Kayaking, a sports discipline which made its debut at the KIUG, six in swimming and five in athletics, two in wrestling and one each in weightlifting, shooting, cycling, archery, table tennis and kabaddi. Lovely Professional University (LPU) finished their …

Water was very cold: Srihari Nataraj flags pool temperature issue at 2025 Khelo India University Games

Water was very cold: Srihari Nataraj flags pool temperature issue at 2025 Khelo India University Games

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“Someone needs to learn how to conduct tournaments!!” India’s double Olympian swimmer Srihari Nataraj made a scathing remark on his social media in between the ongoing 2025 Khelo India University Games in Rajasthan. Nataraj, 24, was left unimpressed by the extremely low pool temperature. Speaking to The Bridge, the swimmer maintained that the cold water made racing “unbearable” and that it was far below accepted competitive standards. “Basically, it was just really cold water, and it was becoming very unbearable to spend time in the water,” he said. Racing shortest distance of 50m, as per Nataraj, in the pool was “okay.” But the longer distances raised problems for the athletes. Nataraj’s social media post was also reshared by other swimmers, including Bhavya Sachdeva, who has bagged six gold medals so far in the competition. The swimmers checked the pool temperature using watches and equipment, and found that the water had dropped to levels completely unsuitable for racing. Srihari Nataraj’s social media post As per the World Aquatics Swimming Pool Certification’s Article 2.7, “The water temperature …

Srihari Nataraj ends campaign with nine titles

Srihari Nataraj ends campaign with nine titles

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World champion archer Aditi Gopichand Swami added another major title to her growing list on Friday, winning the compound women’s individual gold at the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025. Competing for Shivaji University, Aditi defeated Lovely Professional University’s Taniparthi Chikitha 147–143 in the final at the Jagatpura Archery Range, extending her unbeaten streak across Khelo India events. Aditi, who has previously won gold at every Khelo India Youth Games she entered, said the platform has been crucial to her progression. “The Khelo India Games provided me the platform to experience how top level competitions are held and that helped me immensely when I went for international competitions,” she told SAI Media. She added that a strong performance at KIUG was important as she prepares for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where compound archery will make its debut. At the SMS Swimming Pool, Olympian Srihari Nataraj and teammate Bhavya Sachdeva powered Jain University to a commanding finish in the pool. Jain won 27 gold medals in swimming and sit comfortably atop the overall medal standings …

Khelo India University Games 2025: Neeru Dhanda wins fourth straight gold

Khelo India University Games 2025: Neeru Dhanda wins fourth straight gold

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Trap shooters Neeru Dhanda and Aditya Bharadwaj helped Guru Nanak Dev University clean sweep all the four shotgun medals in the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025 at the Jagatpur Shooting Range, while their cyclists won both the individual road races to take their gold medal tally into double figures on Wednesday. Neeru, the reigning Asian Shooting Championships gold medallist, clinched her fourth straight individual gold of the Khelo India University Games with a final score of 47 points and also led Guru Nanak Dev University’s complete dominance of the podium as Manisha Keer (39 points) and Nandika Singh (30) bagged the silver and bronze medals, respectively. The trio also won the team gold with a score of 344 points. Neeru had finished second behind Manisha in the qualifying but raised her levels in the final “I was determined to win the gold today as this is going to be my last Khelo India University Games. I had won the gold in the last three editions of the University Games and I wanted to end …

Khelo India University Games 2025: Srihari Nataraj wins triple gold on opening day

Khelo India University Games 2025: Srihari Nataraj wins triple gold on opening day

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Guru Nanak Dev University cyclist Meenakshi Rohilla grabbed the first gold medals of the 2025 Khelo India University Games in the women’s individual time trial while former champions Jain University took early lead on the medals table on the opening day at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex in Jaipur on Tuesday. The fifth edition of KIUG 2025 is being held across seven cities in Rajasthan and will witness 4448 athletes from 222 Universities compete in 23 medal disciplines. There were a total of 25 gold medals on offer on the opening day and Jain University grabbed the early lead on the medals tally by bagging eight of 11 swimming gold medals. They also grabbed two silvers and four bronze to open up a big lead over Lovely Professional University, who bagged two gold medals in shooting and two in weightlifting. Guru Nanak Dev University also bagged three gold medals on the opening day with Mitvaben Chaudhari winning the women’s Eppe gold and Aakhri clinching the women’s Saber gold after Meenakshi had opened their account in …

Dhinidhi, Srihari dazzle with 9 gold medals each

Dhinidhi, Srihari dazzle with 9 gold medals each

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Paris Olympians Dhinidhi Desinghu and Srihari Nataraj shone throughout the intense and exciting aquatics program at the National Games 2025 in Uttarakhand, winning nine gold medals each. The swimmers, representing Karnataka, won two gold medals each on the final day, helping the state grab a total of 22 gold medals from the swimming program, which incidentally was three better than the previous edition. Dhinidhi shines with 11 medals The 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu, who was in constant focus at the meet, impressed everyone winning 11 medals (nine gold, one silver, and one bronze). In addition, she also re-wrote two new national records in the women’s 200m freestyle and women’s 400m freestyle. Her continuous improvement on the circuit earmarks her as a potential future star for India in swimming. What stood out for Dhinidhi was the fact that five of her golds were in the individual categories – 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, and 100m Butterfly. Other impressive performances in the women’s competition came in from Bhavya Sachedva of Delhi, who dominated the long-distance …

Olympians advocate for Grassroots Sports at SFA Championships

Olympians advocate for Grassroots Sports at SFA Championships

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The importance of grassroots sports took centre stage as Olympians and experts came together for “From The Ground Up,” a panel discussion held alongside the ongoing SFA (Sports for All) Championships in Bengaluru. Their consensus was clear: encouraging children to play sports, expanding grassroots participation, and embracing the unique lessons sport imparts are vital for individual and national growth. Srihari Nataraj, who swam in the 2024 Olympics, said he took the water early on: “I started swimming at 2. I was one of the kids who never cried and ran into the water,” he said. “I enjoyed the time I spent in the pool and started competing in small tournaments at the age of four. I had some success early and this gave me extra joy and passion. As a person, I was competitive and sporting and this made me choose swimming as a profession.” 16-year-old Tilottama Sen, who won silver in the Asian Shooting Championship last year, recounted her contrasting entry into sport: “Because of Covid, everything was shut down. My dad came up …

Srihari Nataraj wins silver at Mare Nostrum swimming tour

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Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj won a silver medal in the 50m backstroke event at the 30th Mare Nostrum swimming tour at the Canet-en-Roussillon, France on Saturday night. The Mare Nostrum Tour, which began on Saturday, is a nine-day competition conducted across three cities – Monaco, Barcelona and Canet. Nataraj clocked 25.50s to finish second on the podium, trailing Hungary’s Adam Jaszo, who touched the pad at 25.46s while Scott Gibson of Great Britain finished third with a timing of 25.64s on Saturday. Nataraj, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, has a personal best of 25.11s. However, the 50m backstroke is a non-Olympic event. So far, no Indian swimmer could make the cut for the Paris Olympics. In 2021, Sajan Prakash and Nataraj created history by becoming the first two Indian swimmers to achieve the ‘A’ qualification mark for the Tokyo Olympics. Nataraj has been in fine form of late. In February, Nataraj created a national record at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships. As part of the 4x200m Freestyle Relay Team, also featuring Aneesh Gowda …