Even though Karnataka and Tamil Nadu put up a spirited fight, the Maharashtra swimmers proved too good for them, writes S. Sabanayakan.
The wealth of talent available in Maharashtra was in full view at the 25th National sub-junior aquatics meet in Kolkata recently. The involvement of both parents and children in pursuit of excellence needs to be lauded.
Such was the performance of the swimmers from Maharashtra that the state won the overall team championship with a whopping 344 points. Competitions were held for boys and girls in the two age groups — 11-12 years (Group III) and 9-10 years (Group IV) — and Maharashtra was on top in both.
Karnataka, a front-runner at the senior level, did put up a spirited fight along with Tamil Nadu, but the Maharashtra swimmers proved too good for them.
The host, Bengal, too had a modest showing barring Ranit Dey, who was brilliant in the Boys Group III category. The 12-year-old swimmer not only held his own but also prevented Maharashtra from completely dominating the group at the Subhas Sarobar Complex.
The pick of the meet were Ranit and Rujuta Bhatt of Maharashtra. Ranit won four events (28 points), two of them in meet record times. Rujuta also won four gold medals (28 points) and set three meet records in the process.
Vishawesh Dudham and Swara Kulkarni, both of Maharashtra, took the individual honours in Group IV for boys and girls respectively. Vishawesh won three gold medals (21 points) while Swara won two gold and two silver medals (24 points) and set one record.
A record number of participants in the three age-groups — Group I (16-18), Group II (14-15) and Group III (12-13) — forced the organisers to conduct diving at the newly-constructed Eastern Railway aquatic complex at Behala. The diving well of international standards produced quite a number of records.
Bengal (18 points) won the Boys Group I team championship with Billol Adhikari emerging the best diver with 18 points and two gold medals. Services took the Group II honours with 21 points with Y. Hemjit Meitei taking the individual championship with 14 points and two gold medals. Bengal emerged champions in Group III with 22 points, but the individual title went to Inderjit Shinde of Maharashtra (14 points and two gold medals).
In the girls section, Maharashtra emerged on top in all the three age groups. Hrutika Shriram of Maharashtra (Group I, 21 points, three gold medals), Nammi Divya Teja of Karnataka (Group II, 17 points, two gold medals) and Swati Vidap of Maharashtra (Group III, 21 points, three gold medals) won the individual honours.
Maharashtra claimed the overall title with 132 points.
The recordsBOYS GROUP III50m butterfly: Ranit Dey (Bengal) 29.68s, clocked in the heats. Previous: 32.91s by Mohit Kumar of Delhi in 2003. 100m butterfly: Ranit Dey 1:06.07s. Previous: 1:09.51 by Mohit Kumar of Delhi in 2003.
GIRLS GROUP III200m freestyle: Kanchi Desai (Maharashtra) 2:20.10. Previous: 2:20.80 by Pratima Kollali of Karnataka in 2007. 100m backstroke: Ananya Panigrahi (Maharashtra) 1:14.63s. Previous: 1:14.88s by Kavya of Maharashtra in 2007. 50m butterfly: Rujuta Bhatt (Maharashtra) 32.44s, clocked in the heats. Previous: 32.91 by Arhatha Magavi of Karnataka in 2006. 100m butterfly: Rujuta Bhatt (Maharashtra) 1:10.03s. Previous: 1:11.66 by Arhatha Magavi of Karnataka in 2006. 200m individual medley: Kanchi Desai (Maharashtra) 2:40.36s. Previous: 2:44.35 by Bhoomi Motwani of Karnataka in 2007. 4x50m medley relay: Tamil Nadu 2:21.76s. Previous: 2:23.12s by Maharashtra in 2006.
BOYS GROUP IV50m breaststroke: Viraj Prabhu (Maharashtra) 40.17s. Previous: 40.62s by Sagar Kumar of Assam in 2007. 4x50m medley: Maharashtra 2:31.15s. Previous: 2:35.19 by Maharashtra in 2003.
GIRLS GROUP IV50m freestyle: Malavika V (Karnataka) 32.41s. Previous: 32.60s by Kalyani Basu of Maharashtra in 2003. 50m butterfly: Swara Kulkarni (Maharashtra) 34.80s. Previous: 34.96 by Rujuta Bhatt of Maharashtra in 2006. 4x50m freestyle: Karnataka 2:15.16s. Previous: 2:17.00s by Maharashtra in 2006. 4x50m medley: Maharashtra 2:31.15s. Previous: 2:35.19 by Maharashtra in 2003.
DIVINGHigh board – Girls group II (14-15 years): Dipti Panwar (Delhi) 475.80 points. Previous: 255.10 by Punam Shah of Maharashtra in 2006. 1m springboard — Girls group III (12-13 years): Swati Vidap (Maharashtra) 244.50. Previous: 236.40 by Swati in 2007. 3m springboard — Girls group III (12-13 years): Nammi Divya Teja (Karnataka) 275.10 points. Previous: 270.45 by Punam Shah of Maharashtra in 2006.
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