Odisha women swimmers made the state proud with an unprecedented haul of six medals, including three silvers on the concluding day of the 77th Senior National Aquatic Championship at the International Complex in Mangalore, Karnataka today. Odisha finished eighth in the medal tally, bagging one gold, four silver and one bronze.

The three silver medals on the concluding day were secured by Pratyasa Ray, Mannata Mishra and Shristi Upadhaya. Pratyasa opened the floodgates as she grabbed the silver in 200m backstroke with a new personal-best time of 2:24.29. This was the second individual silver and fourth overall medal for the ace swimmer from Bhubaneswar, following a silver in 100m backstroke gold in 4x100m medley relay and bronze in 4x200m freestyle relay.

Mannata grabbed the next silver in 100m breaststroke, clocking 1:14.66. This was the maiden individual Senior National medal and second overall for promising swimmer Mannata, who achieved the feat at the age of 17. Shristi capped Odisha’s dream run, claiming the third silver of the day in 100m butterfly with a time of 1:04.24.

This was also the first-ever individual Senior National medal and third overall for Shristi, who exuded confidence to win a gold next time. “If I had done my personal best of 1:03.48, I would have bagged the gold. But I am happy with the silver and optimistic of winning the gold next time,” said Shristi.

Sharing her happiness for the sensational achievements of Odisha women swimmers, Shristi said: “No medal in 76 editions of the Senior Aquatic National Championship and then six in the 77th is an incredible achievement. I am proud of my team-mates Pratyasa, Mannata, Divyanka and Sonia for making it a dream-come-true.”

“We all worked very hard for this day. We are very much thankful to our coaches, support staff, Odisha government, JSW, Odisha State Swimming Association and our parents for believing in us and providing all help, support and encouragement,’’ signed off Shristi.

It is important to note that all five Odisha women medal winners are tranees of Bhubaneswar-based Odisha-JSW Swimming High Performance Centre, which has transformed the State from an ordinary to a fast-improving swimming force in the country with the support of the State Government.
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PHOTO: Odisha women swimmers (L-R) Mannata Mishra, Pratyasa Ray and Shristi Upadhaya pose with respective silver medal at the 77th Senior National Aquatic Championship in Mangalore on 13 September 2024.