Lalitpur, October 4:

Saila Rana won three gold and a silver medal on the opening day of the 14th National Swimming Championship here today.

Saila claimed gold in 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 100m backstroke while she finished second in the 100m freestyle. Nayana Shakya claimed gold in 100m freestyle with the timings of 1 minute 15.75 seconds and Karishma Karki finished third.

Saila finished the 400m freestyle in 6 minutes 0.31 seconds ahead of Karishma and Sudha Karki. She timed 3 minutes and 21.19 for the 200m butterfly gold ahead of Karishma and Shriya Dhital. She beat Karishma for the third time winning 100m backstroke in 1 minute 24.69 seconds while Sudha claimed bronze medal.

Bibidha Rimal bagged the women’s 200m backstroke with the timings of 3 minute, 13.96 seconds. Sudha and Karishma claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Sailesh Rana won the men’s 400m freestyle (5:18.09) ahead of Khim Bahadur KC and Govinda Karki. Sailesh also claimed the 200m backstroke gold while Raju Maharjan and Shanta Kumar Rai finished second and third respectively.

Chandra Singh Mahato (3:4.65) clinched 200m butterfly gold ahead of Sailesh and Govinda Karki. Puspa Raj Shahi bagged the 100m backstroke gold in 1:14.74 while Sitaram Shahi and Khil Raj Majhi finished second and third respectively. Prashidha Jung Shah claimed the 100m freestyle gold in 1:2.97 ahead of Sailesh and Khim Bahadur KC.

Western Region lead the standings with five gold and four silver medals after the opening day of the tournament organised by Nepal Swimming Association (NSA). With three gold and one silver medals, Central Region is second followed by Tribhuvan Army Club with two gold, one silver and five bronze medals.

The NSA has announced Rs 5,000 award for setting a new national record while the best swimmers will be selected for a training in Bangalore. In all, 72 male and 48 female swimmers are participating in 30 events.