Rishabh Das, Charita Phanindranath Set New National Records at Short Course Swimming Nationals

Rishabh Das broke the men’s 50m backstroke national record, while Charita Phanindranath rewrote the women’s 50m butterfly mark as India’s Short Course Senior National Championships witnessed another significant day of record-breaking performances.

Indian swimming witnessed two new national records in the 25-metre pool as Rishabh Das and Charita Phanindranath delivered standout performances at the Short Course Senior National Championships.

Das clocked 24.09 seconds in the heats of the men’s 50m backstroke, breaking the previous national record of 24.40 seconds set by Srihari Nataraj in 2021. Charita followed with a record-breaking swim in the women’s 50m butterfly, recording 27.74 seconds to improve the previous mark of 28.00 seconds established by Divya Satija in 2019.

The performances added to an already productive championship for Indian swimmers, with Das emerging as one of the leading record-setters. His latest achievement came after he had already rewritten the national record in the men’s 100m backstroke at the same competition.

Das continued his impressive run by clocking 24.09 seconds in the men’s 50m backstroke heats. The performance shaved 0.31 seconds off the previous national record of 24.40 seconds, which had been held by Srihari Nataraj since 2021.

The improvement is significant in a sprint event where hundredths of a second can separate swimmers. By lowering the national mark by nearly a third of a second, Das established a new benchmark in the short course event. The record also underlined his growing impact at the championships. His performance in the 50m backstroke followed a national-record swim in the 100m backstroke, making him one of the central figures of the meet.

The 50m event places a premium on reaction time, underwater phases and maintaining speed through the length of the pool. Das’s time of 24.09 seconds demonstrated a substantial improvement on the previous national standard.

Charita Phanindranath sets women’s 50m butterfly record

Charita Phanindranath produced the second major record-breaking performance, clocking 27.74 seconds in the women’s 50m butterfly. The swim bettered Divya Satija’s previous national record of 28.00 seconds, set in 2019, by 0.26 seconds. The new mark establishes a revised national benchmark in the event and adds Charita’s name to the record books.

The 50m butterfly is a demanding sprint that requires swimmers to combine powerful propulsion with precise timing and efficient stroke mechanics. In a short course pool, turns and underwater movement can also play an important role in producing a fast time.

Charita’s performance lowered a record that had stood for seven years, making it one of the notable results of the championships.

Together, the two records highlighted the progress being made across different events in Indian swimming. While Das delivered his mark in backstroke, Charita’s achievement came in butterfly, demonstrating record-breaking performances across both disciplines.

Das had already made headlines in the men’s 100m backstroke, where he recorded a new short course national record.

He clocked 51.63 seconds, improving the previous national mark of 52.81 seconds associated with Srihari Nataraj in the supplied championship results. That represented a reduction of 1.18 seconds, a substantial improvement over the previous benchmark.

The championship information also lists a time of 52.25 seconds for Das in the 100m backstroke heats, describing it as a new national record at the first Short Course Senior Nationals. However, the same information separately reports his 51.63-second swim as the new record, so the exact sequence of these performances requires clarification from the official results.

Regardless, the reported 51.63-second swim represents the fastest of the two times supplied and underscores Das’s exceptional form in the event. His performances across the 50m and 100m backstroke suggest that he has been able to translate his speed across both sprint and longer backstroke distances at the championships.

The championships have also featured several other national-record performances, according to the results provided. In the men’s events, Jhoyappa O R Surya clocked 2:13.09 in the 200m breaststroke, while Sajan Prakash recorded 51.31 seconds in the 100m butterfly.

The women’s events saw Jhanvi Kashyap record 2:03.12 in the 200m freestyle and 1:02.15 in the 100m butterfly. Samaira Malhotra clocked 2:37.24 in the 200m breaststroke, while Pratyasha Rai recorded 1:02.21 in the 100m backstroke.

These performances were included in the supplied championship updates alongside the record-breaking swims. Their precise national-record status would need to be confirmed against the official results.

The new marks by Das and Charita provided two clear highlights from the Short Course Senior National Championships. Das’s 24.09-second swim in the men’s 50m backstroke and Charita’s 27.74-second effort in the women’s 50m butterfly both improved long-standing national records.

For Das, the 50m record added to his reported national-record performance in the 100m backstroke, making his championship particularly noteworthy. For Charita, the swim marked a breakthrough in an event whose previous national benchmark had remained in place since 2019.

As the championships continue, these performances offer fresh reference points for Indian swimmers competing in the 25-metre pool. They also underline the importance of continued progress in sprint events, where even small technical improvements can produce meaningful changes in national standards.