Dhinidhi Desinghu Sets National Record Amidst Medal Triumphs at National Games

Karnataka’s teen swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu breaks the national women’s 400m freestyle record, adding to her nine-medal haul at the 38th National Games. Her achievements include multiple golds and setting a new 200m freestyle record. Meanwhile, Punjab's Sift Kaur Samra excels in shooting, winning gold in Women's 50m 3 Position event.

Karnataka's teenage swimming prodigy, Dhinidhi Desinghu, has made headlines by setting a new national record in the women's 400m freestyle category at the 38th National Games currently underway in Uttarakhand. At just 14 years of age, the Paris Olympian completed the race in 4:24.60, surpassing the previous national mark of 4:24.70 set by Hashika Ramachandra during last year's senior nationals, according to Olympics.com. She also broke the meet record held by Delhi's Bhavya Sachdeva with a time of 4:27.93.

Continuing her gold rush, Dhinidhi teamed up with Srihari Natraj, Akash Mani, and Nina Venkatesh to clinch gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, with an impressive finish time of 3:41.03. These wins brought her total medal tally to nine, which includes five gold medals, a silver in the 50m butterfly, and a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.

Last week, she added three gold medals in the 200m freestyle (2:03.24), 100m butterfly (1:03.62), and the women's 4x100m freestyle relay (4:01.58) to her achievements. Dhinidhi further surpassed her national record in the 200m freestyle. Her triumphs in the 50m freestyle (26.96 seconds) and the women's 4x200m freestyle relay (8:54.87), alongside teammates like Shirin and Meenakshi Menon, highlight her exceptional talent.

In other sporting news, Punjab's Sift Kaur Samra displayed acute precision to win gold in the Women's 50m 3 Position shooting event at the same Games held at the Maharana Pratap Sports College in Uttarakhand. Samra scored a standout 461.2 points in the finals, with her state-mate Anjum Moudgil claiming silver with 458.7 points, and Telangana's Surabhi Bhardwaj Rapole taking bronze with a score of 448.8 points. An intense competition featuring some of the nation's elite shooters, Samra's performance was a testament to her skill, especially as Kerala's Vidarsha Vinod, who led the Kneel Position, faltered in the final stages.