Bhubaneswar swimmer Pratyasa won the 100m backstroke silver, clocking 1:05.82 in the final. Soubrity Monda (Bengal) and Rujuta Prasad Rajadnya (Maharashtra) secured the gold and bronze with timings of 1:05.51 and 1:06.30 respectively.

Apart from winning two medals, three more Odisha women swimmers qualified for the finals in respective events. Shristi Upadhaya and Sonia Patel finished fifth and seventh in women 50m butterfly final with a timings of 29.23 and 29.69 respectively. Shristi qualified for the final, clocking 29.11 earlier in the heats.

Divyanka Divyajyoti Pradhan finished fifth in the women 200m breaststroke final with a time of 2:44.20. She qualified for the final, clocking 2:44.93 in her heats. All four medal winners are trainees of the Odisha-JSW Swimming High Performance Centre at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

The Odisha State Swimming Association (TOSSA) president Pradip Kumar Padhee described the achievement of the four women swimmers as historic and thanked them for making the State proud.

“TOSSA is thankful to the Odisha Government for developing top-class swimming infrastructure across the State and JSW Group for running the HPC in Bhubaneswar. We are also grateful to HPC Head Coach Sandeep Sejwal and Technical Director Douglas Eagar,’’ said Padhee.

Pratyasa’s parents, Rajay Kumar Ray and Charushree Behura too showred praise on the medal winners, the State Government, the HPC, the coaches and TOSSA for the glorious achievements.

“We feel proud as parents of Pratyasa. Today’s Senior National achievements are results of collective efforts of our hard-working swimmers, their coaches, the State Government, JSW Group and the State association,” said Pratyasa’s father Rajat from Mangalore.
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TOP: Ace Odisha swimmer Pratyasa Ray poses with her 100m backstroke silver medal at the Senior National Aquatic Championships in Mangalore on 10 September 2024.
RIGHT: Swimmers of Odisha 4x200m freestyle relay team (L-R) Divyanka Divyajyoti Pradhan, Shristi Upadhaya, Pratyasa Ray and Sonia Patel display their bronze medal at the Senior National Aquatic Championships in Mangalore on 10 September 2024.