Aditi satish hegde

Syama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex: Karnataka's swimmers made a powerful statement on the opening day of the 38th National Games 2025 here on Wednesday, clinching five gold medals and setting a new meet record at the Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex. The state took the honours on the first day of competitions thanks to top stars like Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu besides the men's and women's freestyle relay teams which helped Karnataka take the honours.

Dhinidhi was the star performer as she bagged three gold medals -- two in individual events and one in relay, and also set a national record.

Karnataka’s Srihari Nataraj led the charge, securing gold in the 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:50.57, finishing ahead of compatriot Aneesh S Gowda (1:52.42) and Kerala’s Sajan Prakash (1:53.73).