New Delhi: Young swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu produced an impressive show at the National Games 2025 on Tuesday with as many as three gold medals across events for Karnataka. The 14-year-old won gold medals in women’s 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 4x100m freestyle to help powerhouse Karnataka bag seven medals, including five gold at the Games on Wednesday.
Desinghu, who represented India at the Paris Olympics last year, was the youngest athlete in the country’s contingent. Though she failed to return home with a medal from Paris, the 14-year-old rising swimming sensation continues to achieve new heights in her career and seems destined for greater things in the future.
On Wednesday, Desinghu bagged her first gold medal in the women’s 200m freestyle event at the National Games 2025 with a record timing of 2 minutes and 3.24 seconds. She broke the national record previously held by her state mate Hashika Ramachandra, who recorded a timing of 2:07.08 at the National Games in 2022.
Delhi’s Bhavya Sachdeva (2:08.68) and Maharashtra’s Aditi Satish Hegde (2:09.74) bagged the 2nd and the 3rd spots, respectively in women’s 200m freestyle event. Desinghu continued her impressive show in the women’s 100m butterfly event by bagging another gold. The 14-year-old Olympian clocked 1:03.62 to finish on the top of the podium.
Her Karnataka teammate Naisha Shetty finished 2nd while Odisha’s Shristi Upadhaya bagged the 3rd spot in the women’s 100m butterfly event. Desinghu won her 3rd gold of the day after helping Karnataka win the 4x100m freestyle gold in a time of 4:01.58. Shalini R Dixit, Latiesha Mandana and Nina Venkatesh were the other members of Karnataka’s quartet.
Srihari Nataraj wins two gold medals
Desinghu’s Paris Olympics teammate Srihari Nataraj won two gold medals for Karnataka in men’s 200m freestyle and men’s 4x100m freestyle events. Karnataka’s quartet of Nataraj, Aneesh S Gowda, Akash Mani and Chinatan S Shetty clocked 3:26.26 in the men’s 4x100m final to break another national record on Day 1 of the National Games 2025 in Haldwani.
Karnataka missed out on gold in only a solitary swimming event on Day 1. They missed gold in the men’s 100m butterfly event where Tamil Nadu’s Benediction Rohit bagged the top spot on the podium with a timing of 53.89 seconds.
14-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu, who represented India at the Paris Olympics last year, won as many as three gold medals at the National Games 2025. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
