Correct Answer : Option (B) - Aryan Nehra

Young Indian swimmers Aryan Nehra and Lineysha AK emerged as the top performers ahead of Tokyo Olympians Sajan Prakash and Maana Patel at the Senior National Aquatic Championship 2023, which concluded in Hyderabad on Wednesday (5th July 2023).

* The 76th edition of India’s national swimming championship was held at Hyderabad’s GMC Balayogi Sports Complex in Telangana.

* Apart from being a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics, the four-day meet was the final chance for Indian swimmers looking to make the cut for the Asian Games, to be held in China later this year.

* The qualifying mark for the Asian Games in individual events was the time obtained by the sixth-place finisher in the last edition of the Asian Games at Jakarta 2018.

* Aryan Nehra, who had already qualified for the continental showpiece in men’s 800m freestyle, won four gold medals at the National Aquatic Championship 2023 - the most by any swimmer in the edition.

* Aryan Nehra also reset several swimming national records at the meet. The 19-year-old won the men’s 400m freestyle in 3:52.55, overtaking the previous record of 3:52.75 held by Kushagra Rawat. The likes of Sajan Prakash, Kushagra Rawat and Advait Page were also part of the race.

* Sajan Prakash made a comeback to win gold medals in his pet 100m and 200m butterfly events.

* Aryan Nehra’s other three gold medals came in 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle and 400m medley, in which he also logged a national mark. He was adjudged as the best swimmer in the men’s category.

* Lineysha AK won two gold medals and a silver to be crowned the best swimmer in the women’s category. Her gold medals came in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events with national record timings. However, Lineysha AK settled for silver in the 50m breaststroke, losing to Manavi Varma.

* Maana Patel rewrote her national record in the 100m backstroke to win the gold medal but had to settle for silver as Suvana Baskar won the 50m backstroke. Siva Sridhar, who won three gold medals at the last edition, bagged a solitary gold in the 200m medley.

* Among other notable performances, Nina Venkatesh broke national records in the women’s 50m and 100m butterfly events. Karnataka's 13-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu set a national record in the 200m freestyle with a timing of 2:04.24..

Source : Olympics