Odisha swimmer Pratyasa Ray made a glorious international debut by winning five medals in under-15 age group of the South Asian Aquatic Championships, held at Sugathadasa Indoor Swimming Pool in Colombo, Sri Lanka from October 18 to 23, 2016. The medals included four gold and one silver.

Fourteen-year-old Pratyasa, who hails from Bargarh district but resides in Bhubaneswar, opened her medal haul with a silver in U-15 girls 50m backstroke event, clocking 32.82 seconds. The silver medal immensely boosted her confidence and she went on to grab two gold medals each in team and individual events.

Student of BJEM School, Pratyasa pocketed the two individual yellow metals in U-15 girls 100m and 200m backstroke events with timings of 1:10.91s and 2:33.29s respectively. She was part of the Indian team that claimed one gold medal each in U-15 girls 4X100m medley relay and U-15 4X100m mixed relay events.

India bagged a total of 216 medals, which included 121 gold, 77 silver and 18 bronze. Five countries participated in this championship. Other four were host Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives.

Daughter of Rajat Kumar Ray and Charulata Behura, Pratyasa was accorded a warm reception here today on her return from Colombo. She now aims to do well in the National School Games to be held in next month and ensure her place in the Indian squad for the World School Championship, schedule to be held in 2017.
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PHOTO: Pratyasa Ray displays her international medals in Bhubaneswar on Oct 24, 2016.