Khade misses 50m freestyle medal by a whisker

 Virdhawal Khade bettered his National record but missed out on a bronze medal in the men's 50 metres freestyle by a whisker at the Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

After finishing third fastest overall in the heats, he was a medal contender in the final but missed bronze by a hundredth of a second. He clocked 22.47 seconds while bronze winner Shunichi Nakao of Japan timed 22.46s.

China's Hexin Yu (22.11s) won gold, ahead of Katsumi Nakamura (22.20s).

In the morning session, the 26-year-old Indian swimmer marginally bettered his own long-standing National record by clocking 22.43 seconds, which was a better effort than his 22.52s, set in August 2009 at the Asian Age group Swimming Championships in Japan.

"The National record does not matter to me now. I would have been happier if I timed 25 seconds and won a medal. It, unfortunately, did not happen today," Khade, who won a bronze at the Gunagzhou Games in 2010, said.

•  Coverage: Asian Games 2018

Khade returned to swimming only 18 months back after being out of action due to his job commitment with the Maharashtra government. He is posted as a Tehsildar at Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar, which manages a social welfare scheme.

"It's strange, but the government rule states that I have to do it (job) properly, so I can't miss office to train."

But if swimming is his passion, why can't he pursue a career in sport?

"It's simple. Financial issues! I can't invest from my own pocket. Money is not coming into swimming from anywhere. Had I been in TOPS, today's result would have been different. I would have trained better. When I was posted to Malvan, there was no swimming pool. I was there for two years.

When pointed out that to be considered for TOPS he has to compete regularly internationally and produce results, he quipped: "But I did compete at the Commonwealth Games (in Gold Coast). From there the funding would have helped. I would have just trained harder without worrying about my job."

Khade though is pleased with his improvement after making a comeback to the pool.

"After nearly 10 years (eight years), I am competing at such a big event. I was also at the Commonwealth Games also, but there I could not perform to my potential. I had timed 23.11 seconds there, so it is half a second fast. Hopefully, I will be able to cut down more and get a medal soon."

"I have worked on strength and fitness since January with my coach in Bengaluru. I have improved since January in every competition. Regular competition has helped me."

Khade's campaign is not yet over; he will compete in 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle.

Meanwhile, Anshul Kothari could not qualify for the final as he finished 28th with a timing of 23.83s. He was fastest heat 1.