BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s ace swimmer Pratyasa Ray was one of the few swimmers to have had a memorable outing, with three gold medals, a silver and a national record to show for at the 1st SFI Short Course National Swimming Championships in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Pratyasa finished first in the Women’s 50m Backstroke (29.06 seconds), 100m Backstroke (1:02.21 – new NR) and 200m Backstroke (2:16.20). She delivered the Best Indian Performance in both the 100m and 200m Backstroke events. She shattered the previous record of Maana Patel’s of 1:02.36 (100m) and 2:17.44 (200m).
In the relay events, the Odisha Women’s Team clinched the Gold medal in the 4×100m medley relay, with Pratyasa, Divyanka Dibyajyoti Pradhan, Shristi Upadhaya and Sonia Patel contributing to the victory. The team also secured the silver medal in the Women’s 4×100m Freestyle Relay, with Pratyasa, Shristi, Anshika and Sonia, clocking an impressive time of 4:03.50.
These outstanding achievements reflect the consistent efforts of the Odisha IIS JSW Swimming High Performance Centre in nurturing and developing high-performance athletes. The technical guidance of Douglas Eagar, Technical Director, and the dedicated coaching of Yurvesh Dubey have played a vital role in strengthening the swimmers’ preparation and competitive performance. Sachikant Kumar, Head of Operations, Odisha IIS JSW Swimming Program, has also supported the programme’s effective implementation.