Dehradun/Haldwani, Feb 2 (PTI): The 38th National Games saw two national records tumble, as swimming sensation Srihari Nataraj matched 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu in the gold medal tally, while weightlifter Jagdish Vishwakarma delivered a jaw-dropping performance with a one-legged lift to clinch gold on Sunday.
Services Maintain Lead, Karnataka Follows Closely
The overall medal tally saw Services maintaining their dominance with 33 medals (17 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze), closely trailed by Karnataka, which also bagged 33 medals (15 gold, 9 silver, 9 bronze). Maharashtra and Manipur rounded out the top four, with Maharashtra at 13 gold, 23 silver, 15 bronze and Manipur at 11 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze.Swimming: Nataraj, Dhinidhi Dominate the Pool
In Haldwani, Paris Olympian Srihari Nataraj continued his golden streak, clinching his fifth gold to equal Karnataka teammate Dhinidhi Desinghu, who had dominated earlier events but had to settle for silver in the women’s 50m butterfly.Nataraj clocked 56.26 seconds to triumph in the men’s 100m backstroke, edging out teammate Akash (56.36s) and Maharashtra’s Rishabh (56.80s) for gold. This marked his sixth medal of the Games, including four previous golds in 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m freestyle medley relay, and 4x200m freestyle relay, along with a silver in 50m freestyle.
In the women’s 50m butterfly, Karnataka's Nina took gold in 28.38 seconds, leaving Dhinidhi in second place (28.80s), while Maharashtra’s Rujuta (29.12s) secured bronze.
Dhinidhi, despite finishing second, now boasts seven medals, including five golds in 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 50m freestyle, and 4x200m freestyle relay, and a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.
Another standout performance came from Tamil Nadu's Rohit Benedicton, who set a new meet record in the men’s 50m butterfly, clocking 24.39 seconds to clinch gold.
Weightlifting: Jagdish’s One-Legged Lift Stuns Crowd, Vaishnav Breaks National Record
The weightlifting event in Dehradun witnessed Maharashtra’s Vaishnav Thakur smashing the national record in men’s 102kg snatch with a lift of 160kg, surpassing the previous record of 157kg held by Jagdish Vishwakarma. However, Thakur ultimately settled for silver after a weaker clean-and-jerk (175kg), finishing with a total of 335kg.Services’ Jagdish Vishwakarma stole the show, executing a one-legged finish in his clean-and-jerk (193kg) for a total lift of 345kg, securing gold. Haryana’s Harshit Sehrawat took bronze with 329kg.
"Breaking Jagdish bhai’s record in front of him is a dream come true," an emotional Vaishnav said. However, Jagdish was unfazed by losing his record, stating, "Records are meant to be broken. Vaishnav did it today, but I am more fired up than ever."
In other weightlifting highlights:
- Chandigarh’s Vanshita Verma won gold in women’s 81kg with a total lift of 208kg.
- Tamil Nadu’s Arockiya Alish dominated the women’s 87kg event, lifting 221kg to secure gold.
- Rajasthan’s Harcharan Singh ruled the men’s 109kg category, with 160kg in snatch and 187kg in clean and jerk, totaling 347kg for gold.
Shooting: Ashi Chouksey Shatters National Record
At the Dehradun shooting range, Asian Games bronze medalist Ashi Chouksey of Madhya Pradesh broke the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions national record, scoring 598 points, surpassing the previous record (594) set by Sift Kaur Samra in 2023.Chouksey, who won silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, credited her victory to her coach, sponsors, family, and friends. "This is a moment of pride for me, especially as I had no role models in my sport growing up. Now, here I am, breaking records," she said.
Basketball Champions Crowned
In 5×5 basketball, Punjab claimed the men’s title, while Tamil Nadu triumphed in the women’s category, capping off an exhilarating day of sporting excellence.As the National Games progress, the competition intensifies, with records continuing to fall and emerging athletes making their mark on the Indian sporting landscape.
