Asian Games: Rishabh Das places sixth, eyes 50m backstroke next

Tokyo, 20 September – The men’s 100‑metre backstroke final at the Asian Games saw India’s Rishabh Das finish in sixth place with a time of 54.77 seconds. The top three spots were taken by Jiayu Zhu of China (gold, 51.98 seconds), Hidekazu Takehara of Japan (silver, 53.93 seconds) and Joho Lee of South Korea (bronze, 53.94 seconds).

Das earned his lane in the final after a convincing heat performance, posting 54.85 seconds and ranking fifth overall. Competing in the third heat, he was just 0.42 seconds shy of South Korea’s Joho Lee. The heat leader, China’s Jiayu Zhu, dominated with a 52.63‑second swim that also set a new Asian record.

Teammate Utkarsh Patel missed the cut for the final by a narrow margin, recording 56.19 seconds in his heat and finishing twelfth overall. In the 100‑metre freestyle, Indian swimmers struggled; Rohit Benjamin placed fifth in his heat with 50.25 seconds, ending twelfth overall, while Akash Mani posted 50.85 seconds for an eighth‑place finish in his heat.

Das’s Asian Games schedule continues on Monday with the 50‑metre backstroke, an event that will feature Olympic medalist Shrihar Nataraj. He will also take part in the men’s 4x100‑metre medley relay.

Other Indian athletes set to compete on Monday include Akash Mani and Heer Gitesh Shah in the 50‑metre freestyle, Dhanush Suresh in the 100‑metre breaststroke, and Sunil Kumar Gauda along with Vedant Mahadevan in the 4x200‑metre freestyle relay.

India is striving to break a long‑standing dry spell in Asian Games swimming medals. The nation’s last podium finish came in 2013 when Sandeep Sejwal earned bronze in the 50‑metre breaststroke. Despite setting six national records at the Hangzhou 2023 Games, the Indian team returned without a medal.