Shristi, however, downplayed the fact that she beat Olympian Dhinidhi on her way to the gold. “I am happy that I could win the gold for Odisha irrespective of whom I beat. That is important for me. It would have been a double delight had I broken the National Record with the personal best timing. But I missed the mark (1:02.51) by less than a second.”

Of course, one Nation Record was erased on the opening day of the five-day championship. B Benediction Rohit (Tamil Nadu) established the new National Record with a gold medal in mens 100m butterfly, clocking 53.24 seconds. He shattered the previous record of 53.24, which was set by Sajan Prakash four years back in Bangalore.

Odisha missed a bronze medal on the opening day as Mannata Mishra finished fourth in womens 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:41.43. Her statemate Divyanka Dibyajyoti Pradhan finished sixth in the same event, clocking 2:42.98.

Around 400 swimmers from 32 states and institutions joined the National championship, which is being jointly hosted by the Odisha State Swimming Association (TOSSA) and the State Sports & Youth Services Department (DSYS), under the auspices of the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).

Odisha Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj inaugurated the championship in the presence of SFI president R N Jayaprakash, Asian Aquatic Federation vice-president Virendra Nanavati, SFI general secretary Monal Choksi, DSYS additional secretary Ashok Kumar Panda and TOSSA general secretary Golapmani Mahanta.

Seven female and as many male swimmers are representing Odisha in this Senior National championship. Odisha women swimmers bagged six medals at the previous edition in Mangalore.
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TOP: Odisha ace Shristi Upadhaya poses with her gold medal at the 78th Senior National Aquatic Championship in Bhubaneswar on 22 June 2025.
RIGHT: Womens 100m butterfly medalists (L-R) Shristi Upadhaya, Astha Choudhury and Dhinidhi Desinghu pose on the podium at the 78th Senior National Aquatic Championship in Bhubaneswar on 22 June 2025.