Bhubaneswar: Shristi Upadhaya did Odisha proud on the opening day of the 78th Senior National Aquatic Championships which got underway at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre here on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Shristi struck gold in women’s 100m Butterfly event 1:03.50. She pipped Railways’ Astha Choudhury to the silver, while Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu got the bronze medal.
. It’s her second gold in Nationals, following the 4x100m Medley Relay win with Odisha teammates last year in Mangaluru, where she also claimed a silver and bronze.
A 14-member team is representing Odisha in the senior nationals, which was declared open by Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj earlier in the day.
Besides the home contestants, the focus will be on some of the country’s top swimmers, including Paris Olympians Srihari Natraj and Dhinidhi, along with Sajan Prakash, Aryaan Mehra, Kushagra Rawat.
