Talented swimmer Lekha Kamath scooped up two more gold medals to finish with six gold, as India sunk all opposition in the pool to win seven of the nine races held on the last day of the event at the 10th South Asian Games in Colombo on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old Maharashtra girl, who had bagged four gold medals till Tuesday, secured top honours in the 50m butterfly besides being part of the victorious 4x100m medley relay team, as Indian swimmers sunk two Games marks to bolster their gold haul to 32.
The other teams could manage only six gold medals as the curtain came down on the five-day swimming event.
In the men's 400m individual medley, Rehan Poncha set a new Games record en route to the 400m Individual Medley gold with a time of 4:37/04 seconds, reminding his rivals in the pool of his form and fitness ahead of the Doha Asian Games in December.
The bespectacled youngster erased the mark of compatriot J Abhijith, who had clocked 4:42.57 in 1995.
The silver went to India's Arjun Jayaprakash, who clocked 4:48.84 seconds, while the bronze was won by Pakistan's Nisar Ahmed with a timing of 4:52.25s.
In the women's 200m freestyle, Pooja Alva showed her class by racing her way with the gold in a timing of 2:14.65s.
Finishing second-best was India's Neeraja Balakrishna with a time of 2:15.96s, while Pakistan's Kiran Khan bagged the bronze, clocking 2:18.67s.
In the men's 200m freestyle, Virdhawal Khade emulated Poncha, bagging the gold with a new SA Games record.
Khade clocked 1:59.07 seconds to erase the mark of 1:59.08s, set by compatriot S H Abdullah in the 1999 edition.
India made it a 1-2 finish for themselves with Amar Muralidharan picking the silver with an effort of 1:59.23. The bronze went to Heshan Unamboowe (2:02.74) of Sri Lanka.
In the women's 50m butterfly, Kamath added to her impressive kitty by winning the gold with a time of 29.71 seconds. Pakistan's veteran swimmer and team captain Sana Wahid bagged the silver, clocking 32.87s while local girl Miniruwani Samarakoon had to be content with the bronze with an effort of 33.06s.
The men's 50m breaststroke saw Bangladesh's Shahjahan Ali upset India's Sandeep Sejwal and bag the gold with a time of 30.43 seconds. Sejwal was three seconds adrift, at 30.46s. The bronze was won by Md Niaz Ali, also of Bangladesh, in 31.52s.
In the women's 50m breaststroke, 14-year-old Sri Lankan swimming prodigy Mayumi Raheem made it a hat-trick of gold medals, clinching the top honour with a new national record time of 34.97s.
Doli Akhter of Bangladesh finished runner-up in 36.14s while her compatriot Mahfuza Kahtun bagged the bronze (36.87).
Arjun Muralidharan finished on the top of the podium in the 50m backstroke, clocking 28.28. Rubel Rana of Bangladesh, who had a good day in the pool, picked the silver in 28.40s while Heshan Unamboowe claimed the bronze with a time of 28.86s.
In the women's 4x100m Medley Relay, the Indian quartet of Fariha Zaman, V Tejaswini, Kamath and Paritha Parekh won the gold, clocking 4:40.42 seconds. Pakistan finished second with 4:57.97s, and the hosts came third in 4:49.12s.
The Indian men also ensured a top podium finish in 4x100m Medley relay, covering the distance in 4:00.42s. The silver went to Pakistan (4:11.64s) and Nepal bagged the bronze (4:06.90s).
© 2024 Rediff.com -