Panaji (Goa) [India], October 21 : The 24th National Para-Swimming Championship continued into its second day with electrifying performances from athletes across the country in Goa and showcased the extraordinary talent and determination of para-athletes from various states competing in multiple categories.
The women's 50-meter backstroke events highlighted several remarkable victories. In the S6 category, Karnataka's Simran clinched the gold medal with a time of 1:00.35, followed closely by Kabita of Odisha, and Gajapriya of Tamil Nadu, who secured the silver and bronze, respectively.
Karnataka's Sharanaya claimed another gold for the state in the S7 category with a time of 1:01.46, while Dimple from Rajasthan and Pankaja from Karnataka completed the podium. In the S8 category, Rajasthan's Puran dominated with a gold-winning time of 56.69, with Towfika from West Bengal and Vaishnavi from Maharashtra following in second and third place, a release said.
The S9 category saw Kiran from Rajasthan triumph with a strong finish at 52.18, while Bhanumati of Odisha and Sahid from West Bengal claimed silver and bronze. The Junior Girls categories also saw great performances with West Bengal's Deepanwita taking gold in the S6 category, Maharashtra's Saee winning the S7, and Asmita from West Bengal emerging victorious in the S8.
In the men's events, Kerala's Tomy Joseph secured gold in the S11 category of the 50-meter backstroke with an impressive time of 54.45, followed by Ranjan Kumar from Odisha and Munna from Delhi. In the S12 category, West Bengal's Biswajit took home the gold, with Rajasthan's Bhagirath and Ganesh earning silver and bronze, respectively.
The women's S11 category saw Maharashtra's Kanchanmala shine with a gold-winning performance of 52.69, while Tamil Nadu's Eswari and Rajasthan's Yeshu took silver and bronze.
The 100-meter breaststroke also provided thrilling races. In the Men's SB4 category, Herojit Singh from Services won gold with a time of 2:22.15, while Odisha's Narahari and Haryana's Daulat followed in second and third, the release added.
The SB5 category witnessed Andhra Pradesh's Lakshamana Rao securing the top spot with a time of 2:05.47, followed by Maharashtra's Chaitanya Vishwas and Rajasthan's Om Prakash. In the sub-junior SB5 category, Ayush from Delhi claimed gold, with Diganath from Karnataka winning silver and Delhi's Shiv taking bronze.
In the Women's SB5 100-meter breaststroke, Garima from Gujarat triumphed with a time of 3:26.64, while Trupti from Maharashtra earned silver, and Haryana's Kavita Rani took bronze. Tamil Nadu's Abdul Rahman won gold in the men's SB14 category, while Om Venkatesh and Maharashtra's Harsh Suni secured silver and bronze. Assam's Krishna earned gold in the Junior Boys SB14 category, followed by Maharashtra's Bhagyesh Nitin and Samvidhan.