KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Olympian Sirish Gurung wrapped up the Nepal Swimming Association (NSA) Cup Swimming Championship with three national records, two of them on the final day.
Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC)’s Gurung who had set the national record in men’s 100-meter freestyle event on Monday, broke Alexander G Shah’s record in men’s 50-meter free style event to set a new record on Tuesday. Likewise, he bettered his own mark in men’s 50-meter backstroke.
During a heat for 50-meter freestyle event, Gurung completed the distance in a record time of 25.88 seconds and broke the record of 26.18 seconds set by Alexander G Shah during the 6th FINA Junior Championship held earlier this year.
Gurung’s other record also came from a heat, as he completed the course in 50-meter backstroke with a record time of 31.78 seconds to better his own timing of 31.98 seconds set in 21st National Championship held last year.
He, however, failed to match his records in the finals of the both events. In 50-meter freestyle, Gurung clocked 25.97 seconds while in 50-meter backstroke event he completed the distance in 43.72 seconds.
Meanwhile, Gurung said that it was very hard to maintain the same level of performance given the poor infrastructure in the country.
“This swimming pool is very old and there is a risk of swimmers getting injured. We don’t have other option than playing in such poor conditions, which prevents us to keep the same level of performance,” said Gurung, who bagged a total of four gold medals throughout the championship.
Alexander G Shah of Lincoln School, who won gold in men’s 100-meter back stroke with a record time on Tuesday, came second behind Gurung in 50-meter free style and Armed Police Force (APF)’s Devesh Manandhar snatched the third place.
Alexander G Shah, however, won gold in 50-meter backstroke while TAC duo Anubhav Subba and Dilip Thapa Magar bagged silver and bronze respectively.
Likewise, Anubhav Subba won gold in men’s 100-meter butterfly event while the silver and bronze went to Suresh Rai and Anan Lama respectively.
APF’s Shuvam Shrestha claimed gold in men’s 100-meter breaststroke while Kiran Karki and Bedagya Raj Joshi bagged silver and bronze respectively.
In the women’s 200-meter medley category, Lincoln’s Tisa Shakya won the gold medal while John Dewey School’s Duana Lama and Sameera Shova Thapa of Nisarga Batika School won silver and bronze medal respectively.
Two national records for Sirish
