Gaurika bags her second gold

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Gaurika Singh became the first Nepali swimmer to win two golds in two straight days in the swimming competition at the 13th South Asian Games on Friday. She also broke her previous national record on the day.

At the Satdobato Swimming Complex, Singh completed the women’s 200 meters backstroke event with a timing of 2:17.73 minutes to clinch two golds which no Nepali swimmer was able to achieve at the SAG. With the timing, she broke her previous national record of 2:41.25 minutes.

In the category, India’s Manna Rajiv Patel covered the distance clocking 2:20.71 minutes to claim the silver, while Sri Lanka’s Ganga S D Sen Malwaththage claimed the bronze with a timing of 2:27.25 minutes.

Despite finishing seventh in an eight-man pool, Nepal’s Alex Gadegaard Shah broke his previous national record timing 23.90 seconds in the men’s 50 meters freestyle event. His previous record was 25.06 seconds.

In the category, Sri Lanka won the gold medal with a timing of 22.16 seconds, while India’s Virdhawal Vikram Khade finished second clocking 22.22 seconds. Likewise, Sri Lanka’s Halpewaththaga Dimu bagged the bronze medal covering the distance in 22.94 seconds.

However, only Singh was able to claim a medal on the day, with other swimmers showcasing dismal performances. India dominated the day yet again winning five gold medals taking its golds tally to nine. Sri Lanka is second on the overall tally with four, winning one on Friday. Nepal has two.

In the men’s 1,500 meters freestyle, India’s Kushagra clocked 15:08.23 minutes to win the gold medal, while Sri Lanka’s Dilanka Sheha Bandisaththamge claimed the silver with a timing of 16:57.12 minutes. Also, Bangladesh’s Faisal Ahamed bagged the bronze covering the distance in 17:00.33 minutes.

In women’s 400 meters, India duo Richa Mishra and Apeksha Delyla Fernandes bagged the gold and the silver timing 5:03.36 and 5:09.74 minutes respectively. Bangladesh finished third again with Junayna Ahmed clocking 5:25.23.

In men’s 200 meters backstroke, India claimed its third straight gold as Srihari Nataraj timed 1:59.69 minutes leaving behind the Sri Lanka duo on second and third.

Halpewaththaga Dimu Peris and R C W Mudiyanse clocked 2:01.55 and 2:05.74 minutes respectively. Nepal’s Tenzin Namdolryan Gurung finished seventh clocking 2:22.94.

In men’s 100 meters breaststroke, India duo Likith Selvaraj Prema and Danush Suresh won the gold and the silver clocking 1:00.42 and 1:02.00 minutes respectively. Sri Lanka finished third as Kiran Malinka Jasinghe won the bronze with a timing of 1:02.84 minutes.

Nepal duo Shuvam Shrestha and Sayed Hamza Shah finished sixth and seventh respectively.

Lastly, in women’s 100 meters breaststroke, India duo Annie Jain and Chahat Arora finished first and second. Jain clocked 1:13.50 minutes to win the gold, while Arora won the silver timing 1:13.74 minutes.

Sri Lanka’s Ramudi Nulara Samarakoon was two seconds and 14 milliseconds ahead of Nepal’s Duana Lama in her bid to win the bronze. Samarakoon clocked 1:15.17 minutes, while Lama was on 1:17.13.