Again, it was Shreya Dhital who broke two records and Sirish Gurung with one new record to his name on the opening day of the two-day championship, which also serves as a selection tournament for the FINA World Championship to be held in Barcelona, Spain.
This time, however, they bettered their own national records.
Dhital set new records in 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle events held at the Satdobato Swimming Complex, Lalitpur. She finished the 50m butterfly in a record time of 34.69 seconds. Earlier, she had clocked 34.75 seconds in 2011 during the Galaxy Cup Swimming Championship.
In 100m freestyle, Dhital bettered her own national record of 1 minute 10.80 seconds by clocking 1 minute 9.82 seconds on Tuesday. She had set the previous record during the London Olympics.
Sofia Shah also turned heads finishing the 100m freestyle in 1.10.56 minute. Her timing was better than Dhital´s record set during the London Olympics, but, unfortunately, she finished second in the event behind Dhital on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, teenage swimming sensation Sirish Gurung also delighted the crowd by setting a new record in 200m freestyle. He finished the event in 2 minutes 13.84 seconds to better his own record of 2 minutes 17 seconds set during the NSA Cup Swimming Championship last year.
Gurung, who has been nominated for the Popular Player of Pulsar Sports Awards, holds national records in six different events -- 500m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 400m individual medley and 200m butterfly.
After winning Tuesday´s 200m freestyle, Gurung said that he was able to improve his own timing due to his one-and-a-half-month training in Bangalore, India.
"My aim is to win medals in individual events during the South Asian Games. This record will give me inspiration for it," said Gurung.
Coach Wangden Lama said that Gurung´s success has given a glimmer of hope that Nepal can now win medals in the South Asian Games.
"Sirish´s performance is getting better day by day. It has given us hope that Nepal can once again win medals in the SAG. He can win individual medals if he prepares well for the games," said Lama.
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