36th National Games: Srihari Nataraj wins men’s 100m freestyle swimming event to claim his sixth gold medal

36th National Games: Srihari Nataraj wins men’s 100m freestyle swimming event to claim his sixth gold medal

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At the 36th National Games in Gujarat, Tokyo Olympian Srihari Nataraj won the men’s 100m freestyle swimming event to claim his sixth gold medal. Competing at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex in Rajkot, Srihari Nataraj, representing Karnataka, clocked 50.41 seconds, a new National Games record, to add to his medals haul. Fellow Olympian Sajan Prakash of Kerala, who has won five gold, two silver and a bronze medal at this edition, finished seventh in the 100m freestyle race. This was Srihari Nataraj’s second gold in freestyle swimming events at the National Games 2022. SP Likhit won the men’s 100m breaststroke event, helping table toppers Services take their gold medal haul to 45.

In the men’s soft tennis final, Gujarat men defeated Madhya Pradesh 2-0 in Ahmedabad to take their state’s gold medal tally to 11. Meanwhile, at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Delhi Judoka Mohit Sherawat won the men’s 81kg gold despite fighting his semi-final and final bouts with a dislocated right shoulder. Services and Maharashtra rallied to win the men’s and women’s gold medals respectively, in the water polo competition at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex in Rajkot. Tamil Nadu’s Vaishnavi claimed the women’s artistic yogasana gold with 134.22 points. Maharashtra duo Chhakuli Bansilal Selokar (127.68) and Purva Shriram Kinare (126.68) flanked Vaishnavi on the podium. In the men’s hockey tournament at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Rajkot, Karnataka beat hosts Gujarat 11-2 to earn a semi-final clash with Haryana, who beat Tamil Nadu 3-0 in their own final-eight clash. Uttar Pradesh edged out West Bengal via the penalty shootout after the thriller ended 1-1 in regular play. Uttar Pradesh will play Maharashtra, who beat Jharkhand in the other quarter-final.

In the medals tally, Services continue to dominate with 104 medals including 45 Gold, 31 Silver, 28 Bronze, followed by Haryana with 83 medals including 30 Gold, 25 Silver and 28 Bronze. Maharashtra is now at third place with 110 medals including 28 Gold, 28 Silver and 54 Bronze. Karnataka have risen to the fourth spot with 23 gold medals, 19 of which came from the aquatics competitions. Tamil Nadu, whose 4x100m medley relay squad defeated Karnataka in the final, are fifth on the medal table with 22 gold medals.