Monday 09 / September / 2024
Paris : China secured the gold medal in the men's 4 x 100 m medley relay swimming final at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Sunday while it was the USA that walked away with the top prize in the women's 4 x 100 m medley relay medal match.
Coming to the men's action, China topped the competition with the timings of 3:27.46. At the second place, was the USA with the timings of 3:28.01 and then France took home the bronze medal with the timings of 3:28.38.
In the women's 4 x 100 m medley relay final, the USA topped the competition with timings of 3:49.63, breaking its own world-record timings of 3:50.40 (in 2019 at Gwangju).
At the second place was Australia with the timings of 3:53.11 and they got the silver medal. The bronze medalists were China, with the timings of 3:53.23.
However, India did not have a good campaign at the Olympics in swimming. It came to an early end as both Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu failed to progress past the heats in their respective events.
Desinghu, the youngest member of India's contingent at just 14 years old, showcased her talent by clocking 2:06.96 to top Heat 1 in the women's 200m freestyle.
Desinghu, hailing from Bengaluru, holds the national record of 2:04.24 in this event, highlighting her potential and promise for the future. Despite her impressive performance in her heat, Desinghu finished 23rd out of 30 swimmers across four heats and did not advance to the next round. This marked her debut appearance at the Olympics, setting the stage for what could be a bright future in international swimming.
In the women's 200m freestyle event, Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan led the pack with a remarkable time of 1:55.79. The competition was fierce, with Romania's Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu securing the last spot for the semi-finals with a time of 1:59.29.
Srihari Nataraj, another promising swimmer from India, competed in the men's 100m backstroke. Nataraj clocked 55.01 to finish second in Heat 2, but his time placed him 33rd overall in a field of 46 swimmers. This was Nataraj's second Olympic appearance, following his participation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Despite not advancing, his experience and efforts reflect his dedication and the competitive spirit of Indian swimmers on the global stage.
