Swimming World Championships | Aryan Nehra Impresses in 800m Freestyle with best Indian timing
Aryan Nehra, a teenage swimming prodigy, finished 27th in the 800m freestyle race at the swimming World Championships on Tuesday by matching the "best Indian time." The 19-year-old matched Advait Page's "best Indian time" after running a personal best 8:00.76 in the heats.
Aryan beat his previous best time of 8:01.81 from the Nationals in Hyderabad earlier this month with the swim on Tuesday. However, Aryan was unable to proceed to the final since only the top eight swimmers from each heat advance. The Gujarati teen is in the midst of a purple period. At the Nationals, he went on a record-breaking tear, taking home four gold medals and setting an equal number of new national records.
Later this week, Aryan will also compete in the 1500m freestyle competition. When timing is achieved in the National Aquatic Championships, it is regarded as a national record in swimming. The times recorded at previous meets are therefore referred to as the "best Indian time."
Tuesday's other competing Indian swimmer, Sajan Prakash, finished 23rd in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:58:07. The 29-year-old swimmer from Kerala had a time of 1:56:38 for the competition. Thus, the two-time Olympian's season was over. Among 91 swimmers, he had placed 57th in the 50-meter butterfly.