Dhinidhi Desinghu, 14 year old, became the youngest female swimmer to win seven gold medals in the National Games, while Srihari Nataraj finished with ten medals, including eight gold, one silver, and one bronze each, as Karnataka topped the standings chart at the end of the 2023 National Games aquatic competitions on Saturday.
Desinghu was tied with colleague Nina Venkatesh for the most golds entering the last day of competition, and both had two more events to compete in. The teenager won gold in the 100m freestyle, setting a new Games record in the process.
Later, she and Nina joined forces with Nataraj and Vidith Shankar to assist Karnataka win gold in the 4x100m medley relay, the last event of the National Games swimming competition, to complete a haul of seven gold medals.
The last day’s competition matched Srihari against the Games’ fastest man, Virdhawal Khade, in the 100m freestyle, but the Bangalore teenager got a terrific start and stretched his advantage at the turn to improve his own meet record. Harshitha Jayaram of Kerala (100m breaststroke) also broke records in individual events.
Featured Image: Hindustan Times