Asian Games swimming: No medals for India on last day

GUANGZHOU - India rounded off the swimming competitions of the Asian Games here Thursday with a dismal sixth-place finish in the 4×100m men’s medley team event.

Melkote Badrinath, Sandeep Sejwal, Rehan Poncha and Aaron D’Souza clocked 3:52.97 — 18.8 secs behind gold medallists Japan (3:34.10 sec). South Korea (3:38.30 secs) and Kazakhstan (3:40.55 sec) won the silver and bronze, respectively.

Poncha, Sejwal, D’Souza and Virdhawal Khade had earlier qualified for the final with a timing of 3:49.38secs. Khade, who won India’s first Asiad swimming medal in 24 years, was, however, replaced by Badrinath in the final race.

It was a disappointing show by the Indian swimmers in other events as well. Mandar Anandrao Divase topped his heat in the 16:11.84 secs but his timing fell short of making the final cut in the men’s 1,500m freestyle.

In the men’s 50m backstroke, Badrinath could not make it to the final after finishing at a penultimate seventh place in his heat with a timing of 27.63 secs.

Sejwal finished fourth in the men’s 200m breaststroke heats, clocking 2:19.78.