Press Release courtesy of Nilesh Shetty
17 swimmers from Glenmark Aquatic Foundation Mumbai and SAI Glenmark TIDM programme Delhi won a total of 15 medals at the Speedo Thailand Age Group swimming Championships held in Bangkok between 7th-11th April 2018. The Swimmers won a total of 5 Golds 5 Silvers and 5 Bronzes. It was a fantastic outing as more than 80% of the events saw swimmers record their personal bests.
Swadesh Mondal lived up to his reputation of being the brightest prospect among swimmers in the Under 14 category by swimming a better time than the current National record. Swadesh who won the best overall swimmer in Group II at the Glenmark Junior National Aquatic Championships clocked 02:26.40 to win gold which beats the National record for the same category also held by Swadesh with a time of 02:28.87. Swadesh again bettered his National record in 400 Individual Medley winning gold with a time of 04:43.07 bettering the National record which is at 04:49.33. The last day Swadesh clocking a time of 02:13.50 bettering his own National record which stands at 02:15.28 in the 200 IM winning gold in the process. He won a total of 5 medals including 3 golds one silver and one bronze.
Veer Khatkar, the upcoming swimming talent from Haryana won Gold in the 100 m Freestyle event in the 14-15 boys age group with a time of 00:54.55 which is better than the current national record in the Group II category which stands at 00:55.38. Veer also won bronze in the 50 m FS.
Young guns Aryan Vernekar and Bikram Changmai clocked 00:26.21 and 00:26.50 to win Silver and bronze in the 50m Butterfly. This betters the current National record which is at 00:26.68. Bikram also won a silver in the 100m Butterfly
Two young backstrokers Vedant Bapna and Aaryan Bhosale fought in all the 3backstroke races. Aaryan pipped Vedant to win gold in the 200 m Backstroke while Vedant pipped Aaryan to win bronze in the 100 m backstroke in addition to the silver in the 200 m backstroke. Aaryan finished third in 400 IM and 400FS but these did not count as medals as only 2 foreigners are allowed medals as per the rules of the event.
Vedaant Madhavan won a bronze in the grueling 1500m Freestyle in his first attempt at this race at an International meet.
Astha Chaudhary the upcoming swimmer for Assam won a silver in 100Fly.
| Name | Event | Timing | Group | Medal |
| Swadesh Mondal | 400m Individual Medley | 04:43.07 | Boys 14-15 | Gold |
| Veer Khatkar | 50 m Freestyle | 00:25.05 | Boys 14-15 | Bronze |
| Bikram Changmai | 100 m Butterfly | 00:58.73 | Boys 13-14 | Silver |
| Aastha Chaudhary | 100 m Butterfly | 01:06.920 | Girls 14-15 | Silver |
| Vedaant Madhavan | 1500 m Freestyle | 18:31.08 | Boys 13-14 | Bronze |
| Swadesh Mondal | 100 m Breaststroke | 01:08.56 | Boys 14-15 | Silver |
| Vedant Bapna | 100 m backstroke | 01:00.91 | Boys 14-15 | Bronze |
| Swadesh Mondal | 200 m breaststroke | 02:26.40 | Boys 14-15 | Gold |
| Aryan Varnekar | 50 m Butterfly | 00:26.21 | Boys 13-14 | Silver |
| Bikram Changmai | 50 m Butterfly | 00:26.50 | Boys 13-14 | Bronze |
| Vedant Bapna | 200 m backstroke | 02:10.04 | Boys 14-15 | Silver |
| Veer Khatkar | 100 m Freestyle | 00:54.55 | Boys 14-15 | Gold |
| Aaryan Bhosale | 200 m backstroke | 02:10.04 | Boys 14-15 | Silver |
| Swadesh Mondal | 50 m Breaststroke | 00:31.75 | Boys 14-15 | Bronze |
| Swadesh Mondal | 200 m Individual Medley | 02:26.40 | Boys 14-15 | Gold |
Glenmark Aquatic Foundation is a not for profit CSR initiative of Glenmark Aquatic Foundation dedicated to the cause of competitive swimming. GAF runs a Hi performance Centre in Mumbai and has tied up with the Sports Authority of India to run the SAI Glenmark TIDM programme at the SAI National Swimming Academy at Delhi. GAF has a vision to enable Indian swimmers achieve podium finishes at major global swimming meets.
