Arvind, Damini capture gold

Arvind M and Damini K Gowda finally opened defending champions Karnataka’s gold account but it was their arch-rivals Maharashtra who continued to hold sway for the third straight day of the 68th Senior National Aquatic Championships here on Friday.

Having failed to muster a single gold on the first two days of the competition -- a rarity for Karnataka -- Arvind ended the drought for the powerhouse with a fine show in the 400M individual medley race, clocking 4:40.44.

Railways’ Sanu Debnath timed 4:41.55 to claim silver while Merwyn Chen, also of Railways, won bronze (4:43.15).

Minutes after Arvind’s triumph, Damini doubled Karnataka’s gold tally, powering to victory in the 200M butterfly event.

The teen touched the pad in 2:24.85, well ahead of second-placed Srishti Nag (2:28.76) of Chhattisgarh and bronze medal winner VKR Meenakshi (2:30.58) of Tamil Nadu.

Damini also pocketed a silver medal in the 200M backstroke, giving a decent fight to another rising star Maana Patel before being outdone by the Gujarati.

Maana, just 14 but tipped to become the next big thing in Indian swimming, clocked 2:25.94 while Damini came home in 2:26.58.

Karnataka’s Vaania Kapoor Achuthan clinched bronze with a timing of 2:28.64.

Karnataka also had to settle for silver in the two 4x100M medley relays.

While the men lost to Railways, who set a new national record with a timing of 3:51.48, the women were beaten by Maharashtra.

It was another eventual day for 2010 Asian Games bronze medallist Veerdhawal Khade.

The Maharashtrian, who nailed the 50M freestyle gold upon his return to the pool following a two-year absence to concentrate on his career with the State government, won the 50M butterfly gold with a timing of 24.95 seconds.

Railways’ Sarma SP Nair (25.17) took silver and Gujarat’s Anshul Kothari (25.50) won bronze.

Meanwhile in waterpolo, Karnataka women will take on Kerala in the semifinals on Saturday.

Results: Men: 50M butterfly: Veerdhaval Khade (Maharashtra) 24.95 seconds, 1; Sarma SP Nair (Railways) 25.17, 2; Anshul Kothari (Gujarat) 25.50, 3.

200M freestyle: Saurabh Sangvekar (Maharashtra) 01:53.10, 1; Sajan Prakash (Railways) 01:53.93, 2; Neil Contractor (Gujarat) 01:56.12, 3.

400M individual medley: Arvind M (Karnataka) 04:40.44, 1; Sanu Debnath (Railways) 04:41.55, 2; Merwyn Chen (Railways) 04:43.15, 3.

4x100M medley relay: Railways (03:51.48) (NR; Old: 3:53.87, Railways, 2013) 1; Karnataka (04:00.42) 2; Services (04:00.57) 3.

Women: 200M backstroke: Maana Patel (Gujarat) 02:25.94, 1; Damini K Gowda (Karnataka) 02:26.58, 2; Vaania Kapoor Achuthan (Karnataka) 02:28.64, 3.

200M butterfly: Damini K Gowda (Karnataka) 02:24.85, 1; Srishti Nag (Chhattisgarh) 02:28.76, 2; VKR Meenakshi (TN) 02:30.58, 3.

800M freestyle: Monique Gandhi (Maharashtra) 09:15.74, 1; Richa Mishra (Police) 09:16.29, 2; PM Abishiktha    (TN) 09:36.06, 3.

4x100M medley relay: Maharashtra (04:34.91) 1; Karnataka (04:40.46) 2; Gujarat (04:48.33) 3.

Diving: Men: 3M springboard: K Ramananda Sharma (Services) 369.70 metres (NR; Old: Viraj Patil, 354.75, 2006) 1; Surojit Rajbanshi (Kerala) 327.90, 2; M Manesh Kumar (Servces) 302.15, 3.

Women: 3M springboard: Simran Rajani (Maharashtra) 188.10, 1; Hrutika Shriram (Railways) 176.00, 2; Deepti Panwar (Services) 163.95, 3.