Two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraj opened India’s account at the Asian Aquatics Championships 2025 in Ahmedabad with silver medals in the men’s 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke swimming events on Sunday.
Competing at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, the 24-year-old clocked 1:48.47 in the 200m freestyle to finish behind People’s Republic of China’s Haibo Xu (1:46.83). He later timed 25.46 in the 50m backstroke, taking second place behind another Chinese swimmer, Gukailai Wang (25.11).
Japan’s Hinata Aado (1:48.73) and Chinese Taipei’s Mu Lun Chuang (25.50) finished third in the 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke, respectively.
Srihari Nataraj holds the Indian swimming record of 1:48.11 in the 200m freestyle, which he clocked at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Germany.
Srihari Nataraj, who represented India at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, also holds the national record 100m backstroke.
In the women’s 200m freestyle event, 15-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu – India’s youngest athlete at Paris 2024 – improved her own national record with a fifth-place finish in 2:02.97.
The gold went to China’s Mingyu Luo (2:01.31), while Vietnam’s Thi My Tien Vo (2:01.95) and Hong Kong China’s Xintong Wang (2:02.30) completed the podium.
Later in the day, Nataraj returned to help India claim bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay alongside Rishabh Anupam Das, Likith SP and Rohit Benedicton. The quartet clocked 3:40.87, finishing behind China (3:36.93) and Chinese Taipei (3:39.40).
Swimmers from 29 countries are competing at the 11th edition of the Asian Aquatic Championships.
The Asian Aquatics Championships began with swimming and diving events on September 28. Artistic swimming and water polo will begin on October 4.