Indian swimmer Rishabh Das finished sixth in the men’s 100m backstroke final at the Asian Games after clocking 54.77 seconds on Sunday. China’s Jiayu Xu won the gold with the timing of 51.98, while Hidekazu Takehara (53.93) pocketed silver and Juho Lee of South Korea (53.94) bagged the bronze medal. Das booked his place in the men’s 100m backstroke final after producing a strong performance in the heats, finishing fifth overall with a time of 54.85 seconds.
Das finished third in Heat 3, just 0.42 seconds behind Juho Lee, while China’s Asian record holder Jiayu topped the overall standings in 52.63 seconds in the heats.Meanwhile, Das’ compatriot Utkarsh Patil narrowly missed out on a place in the final. He clocked 56.19 seconds to finish sixth in his heat and 12th overall.
India endured a less encouraging outing in the men’s 100m freestyle heats. Rohit Benedicton finished fifth in Heat 5 with a timing of 50.25 seconds and was 12th overall, earning a reserve spot. Akash Mani finished eighth in the same heat in 50.85 seconds and did not advance.
Das’ campaign at the 2026 Asian Games has not ended, as he will now shift his focus to the 50m backstroke event on Monday, with Olympian Srihari Natraj also in the fray. Das will also be competing in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.
On Monday, Aksha Mani and Heer Gitesh Shah will be in action in the Men’s 50m Freestyle event. Dhanush Suresh will compete in Men’s 100m Breaststroke. Sunil Kumar Gowda and Vedaant Mahadevan will be in action in the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
India will be looking to end a 12-year wait for an Asian Games swimming medal in Japan. Sandeep Sejwal was the last Indian swimmer to make the continental podium, winning bronze in the 50m breaststroke at Incheon 2014. Indian swimmers returned without a medal from Hangzhou 2023 despite setting six national records.
