Key Points

India delivered an exceptional performance at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships, securing 13 medals and marking its most successful swimming campaign. The team's final day efforts included four bronze medals across different events, highlighting individual and relay team achievements. China dominated the championships with 49 total medals, while India impressively claimed the ninth position overall. The championships showcased remarkable talent and competitive spirit from athletes across multiple Asian nations.

Key Points: India Shines with 13 Medals at Asian Aquatics Championships

  • India wins 4 bronze medals in final day swimming events
  • Bhavya Sachdeva leads women's 400m Freestyle bronze performance
  • Sajan Prakash secures bronze in Men's 200m Butterfly
  • Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay team clinches dramatic bronze
4 min read

Asian Aquatics C'ships: India wraps up their most successful performance in swimming, diving with 13 medals

India achieves historic swimming performance with 13 medals at 11th Asian Aquatics Championships, securing ninth position overall.

"Our most successful Asian campaign to date - Indian Swimming Team Representative"

Ahmedabad, Oct 1

The last day of swimming and diving events at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships 2025 saw China assert its dominance once again, sealing the overall champion title with a staggering 49 medals (38 gold, 8 silver, 3 bronze) at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

For India, the final day brought four bronze medals through Bhavya Sachdeva, Sajan Prakash, Srihari Nataraj, and the men's relay team. Their efforts in the Women's 400m Freestyle, Men's 200m Butterfly, Men's 100m Backstroke, and Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay lifted India's tally to 13 medals (4 silver, 9 bronze), marking the country's most successful Asian campaign to date, at ninth position overall.

Behind China, Japan secured second place with 18 medals (5 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze), while Hong Kong rounded out the top three with 14 (3 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze).

In the Women's 400m Freestyle, Bhavya Sachdeva began from the 3rd lane while Aditi Satish Hegde from the 2nd. Japan's Tanimoto Haruno (4:16.39) pulled ahead right from the first 50m while Bhavya battled with the trailing group to emerge marginally ahead after 150m. Vietnam's Kha Nhi Nguyen (4:25.50) followed Bhavya closely till the last lap and overtook Bhavya to claim the silver medal, and Bhavya (4:26.89) had to settle for bronze, the first medal for India in the women's category.

Sajan Prakash in the Men's 200m Butterfly, began from lane 3 and after a slow first 50m, pulled the trigger to edge ahead of Chinese Taipei's Kuan Hung Wang (1:56.63) and Japan's Ryo Kuratsuka, but the duo swam faster in the last lap, pushing Sajan back to third place with a time of 1:57.90.

In the Men's 100m Backstroke, Srihari Natraj began from lane four and turned third at the 50m mark, just ahead of teammate Rishabh Das in lane five. China's Gukailai Wang (54.27) and Chinese Taipei's Lu Lun Chuang (54.45) maintained a slim lead through to the finish, leaving Srihari to take bronze in 55.23, while Rishabh followed close behind in fourth.

The Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay capped off the evening with a thrilling contest. Thomas Durai gave India a steady start, handing over in third place before Akash Mani surged through the second leg to move up into second behind China. Rohit B Benedicton battled hard on the third lap but was edged into third by Chinese Taipei's Mu Lun Chuang. Anchoring the final stretch, Srihari Natraj pushed furiously to reclaim second, but China (3:20.24) and Chinese Taipei (3:20.59) held their ground, leaving India to clinch bronze with a time of 3:21.49 in a nail-biting finish.

The 11th Asian Aquatics Championships 2025 will continue with Artistic Swimming and Water Polo events from 4th October 2025.

Results:

Swimming

Men

800m Freestyle

Huy Hoang Nguyen (Vietnam) 7:57.58

Ilya Sibirtsev (Uzbekistan) 8:00.37

Haibo Xu (China) 8:02.34

200m Butterfly

Kuan Hung Wang (Chinese Taipei) 1:56.63

Ryo Kuratsuka (Japan) 1:57.24

Sajan Prakash (India) 1:57.90

100m Backstroke

Gukailai Wang (China) 54.27

Mu Lun Chuang (Chinese Taipei) 54.45

Srihari Nataraj (India) 55.23

4x100m Freestyle Relay

China (Haoyu Wang, Yichen Xie, Gukailai Wang, Haibo Xu) 3:19.93

Chinese Taipei (Hsin Hao Wang, Kun Ming Fu, Mu Lun Chuang, Kaun Hung Wang) 3:20.59

India (Jashua Durai, Akash Mani, Benedicton R. Beniston, Srihari Natraj) 3:21.49

Women

400m Freestyle

Haruno Tanimoto (Japan) 4:16.39

Kha Nhi Nguyen (Vietnam) 4:25.50

Bhavya Sachdeva (India) 4:26.89

200m Butterfly

Zhenqi Gong (China) 2:09.97

Manami Miyamoto (Japan) 2:11.32

Kamonchanok Kwanmuang (Thailand) 2:12.83

100m Backstroke

Jiawai Li (China) 1:00.51

Misaki Kasahara (Japan)1:01.60

Mia Millar (Thailand) 1:03.56

4x100m Freestyle Relay

China (Mingyu Luo, Jiawai Li, Yanjun Zhou, Zhenqi Gong) 3:43.72

Hong Kong (Sum Yiu Li, Xintong Wang, Wai Kiu Man, Lai Wa Ng) 3:48.40

Thailand (Jinjutha Pholjamjumrus, Kamonchnok Kwanmuang, Kamonluck, Tungnapakorn, Mia Millar) 3:54.21

Mixed

4x100m Medley Relay

China (Gukailai Wang, Haiyang Qin, Zhenqi Gong, Mingyu Luo) 3:49.43

Japan (Misaki Kasahara, Mana Ishikawa, Ryo Kuratsuka, Hinata Ando) 3:53.13

Hong Kong (Tsz Yu Ashley Chan, Yik Ki Tsui, Ralph Yat Ho Koo, Sum Yiu Li) 3:55.13

Diving

Men's Platform

Zilong Cheng (China) 463.95

Yunxuan Zhang (China) 450.35

Igor Myalin (Uzbekistan) 378.55

Women's 3m Springboard

Linxi Ye (China) 312.55

Sijia Li (China) 282.35

Gladies Lariesa G.Kore (Indonesia) 262.80

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
The relay team's performance was absolutely thrilling! That final stretch by Srihari Natraj had me on the edge of my seat. Just 2 seconds away from silver - so close yet so proud! 🏊‍♂️💪
A
Arjun K
While I'm happy with the progress, we need to focus on converting these bronzes into golds. China got 38 golds while we have none. Our athletes are talented but need better training facilities and international exposure.
S
Sarah B
As someone who follows swimming closely, this is massive progress! Remember when we used to struggle to even qualify for finals? Now we're consistently winning medals across multiple events. The future looks bright! ✨
V
Vikram M
Hosting such events in Ahmedabad shows we're serious about developing sports infrastructure. The Veer Savarkar Sports Complex did us proud! Hope this inspires more young Indians to take up swimming seriously.
K
Kavya N
So happy for Bhavya Sachdeva! Breaking barriers for women swimmers in India. Her bronze in 400m freestyle is just the beginning. More girls will be inspired to take up competitive swimming now! 👏

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50