Muralidharan gets top honour

Muralidharan gets top honour
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

Mumbai, July 4: Amar Muralidharan (Maharashtra) won the individual championship in the boys' Group I category of the 27th Junior National Aquatic Championships held at Bareilly from June 23-27.

Muralidharan finished with four gold medals while Bhavna Sharma, Madhurika Ghatge, Avani Sawant, Ananda Barge and Kaustubh Radkar won one each.

Maharashtra's waterpolo campaign ended in disappointment -- the under-20 boys losing in the quarter-finals to Manipur, the girls finishing third to Kerala and Bengal.

Results (only Maharashtra)

Boys (Group I): 200m freestyle: Amar Muralidharan 2:03:95. 100m backstroke: Amar Murallidharan 1:06:56.400m freestyle: Amar Muralidharan 4:22:18. 200m butterfly: Amar Muralidhdran 2:14:62. 50m freestyle: Kaustubh Radkar 0:25:70. 200m backstroke: Ananda Barge 2:23:52. Group II 200m freestyle: Avinash Kriplani 2:07:36.

Girls Group II: Bhavna Sharma 5:32:09. 200m butterfly: Madhurika Ghatge 2:37:59. Group II: Avani Sawant 2:38:29.

Individual champion: Boy's Group I: Amar Muralidharan (41 points).

Waterpolo Boys' under-20 (quarter-final): Manipur 6 bt Maharashtra 5 (Sanket Shinde 3, Harshad Barve, Tejas Pathare). Final: Kerala 10 bt Manipur 2. Final placings: 1 Kerala, 2 Manipur, 3 Bengal.

Girls under-20: Bengal 3 bt Maharashtra 2 (Arohi Karmatkar 2). Kerala 6 bt Maharashtra 3 (Smita Gavhane, Mugdha Kamat, Rujuta Deshpande). Third place: Maharashtra 11 (Rujuta Deshpande 5, Bhairavi Merchant 3, Meghana Chitale, Smita Gavhane, Arohi Karmarkar) bt Karnataka 2. Final placings: 1 Kerala, 2 Bengal, 3 Maharashtra.