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Indian para-swimmer Himanshu Nandal dedicated his historic hat-trick of bronze medals at the Asian Para Games 2026 to the nation and his support staff, crediting their hard work and dedication for his achievements at the continental event in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Nandal completed his treble of podium finishes on Friday, winning bronze in the men's 100m freestyle S11 event as Indian para-swimmers signed off with 11 medals, a significant improvement from the solitary bronze they secured at the previous edition. Talking to ANI, Nandal expressed satisfaction at his performance, which also saw him achieve personal bests, while highlighting the fine margins that decided his medal in the 100m breaststroke. "It feels wonderful. I also achieved personal bests, and I managed to secure three bronze medals. I would like to dedicate this achievement to the nation and to my support staff, who worked so hard and with such dedication to make this possible, he told ANI. The 100-metre breaststroke was the most challenging. The race was so intense that the finish came down to mere microseconds. If I had been even a fraction further behindby a distance no greater than the thickness of a strand of hairI would have lost the medal," Nandal added. The 22-year-old, who was born blind due to optic nerve failure, clocked one minute and 5.90 seconds to finish third in the men's 100m freestyle S11 event. Japan's Uchu Tomita won gold in a Games-record time of 58.22 seconds, while China's Chuanzhen Sun claimed silver in 58.70 seconds. Nandal had earlier won bronze in the men's 400m freestyle and 100m breaststroke S11 events. He opened his medal account on Tuesday with a timing of 5:10.91 in the 400m freestyle before adding another podium finish in the breaststroke event. The S11 classification is for swimmers with severe visual impairment, including those with very low visual acuity or no light perception. Nandal and Ravi Budigina emerged as India's leading performers in the pool, winning three medals each. Budigina claimed silver in the men's S13 100m backstroke and freestyle events before adding bronze in the men's 50m freestyle. The Indian para-swimming contingent finished its campaign with three silver and eight bronze medals, marking a sharp rise from the single bronze won at the previous edition. Nandal's sporting journey began in a sports-oriented family in Rohtak, Haryana, with his father having played hockey at the national level. He moved to Delhi at the age of four and joined the National Association for the Blind, where he learnt Braille. He initially pursued judo and won medals at the national level before switching to swimming in 2021. His progress in the pool saw him become the first Indian blind swimmer to achieve the Minimum Qualification Standard for the Paris Paralympics in 2024. (ANI)
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