Mohali, October 8

Mohali swimmer Chahat Arora claimed 100m breaststroke gold medal by clocking 1 minute and 14:42 seconds — a new National Games record — during the ongoing 36th National Games in Gujarat.

Chahat defeated Maharashtra swimmers Jyoti Patil (1:16.42s) and Aarti Patil (1:18.03s) to set the new national record. She shattered Sanji Shetty’s record of 1:17.35s made during the 1997 National Games.

Result of hard work

It’s a result of hard work. I have been exclusively working on enhancing this stroke and this win is a good sign. My next target is to represent the nation in the Asian Games and win a medal. I am following a tight practice schedule under professional guidance. Chahat Arora

Not only in 100m breaststroke, Chahat also made it to the record books by covering 50m breaststroke in a record timing of 33.31s. She also won silver in the 200m breaststroke event with a timing of 2:43.39s. “It’s a result of hard work. I have been exclusively working on enhancing this stroke and this win is a good sign. My next target is to represent the nation in the Asian Games and win a medal. I am following a tight practice schedule under professional guidance,” said Chahat.

Earlier this year, she broke the women’s 100m breaststroke national record twice — first in heats and then in the final — during the 75th Senior National Swimming Championship, Guwahati. She broke the earlier national record of 1: 14.87s set by Saloni Dalal in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018 by clocking 1:13.61s in the final of that championship.