Hyderabad witnessed thrilling aquatic action as the 36th South Zone Aquatic Championship 2025 was held from 27th to 29th December at the Aquatic Complex, GMC Balayogi Stadium, Gachibowli.
The prestigious championship was successfully organised by the Telangana Swimming Association, with top swimmers from southern states competing across age groups.
In the Girls 15–17 years 1500m Freestyle (Group 1), Adithi Vinayak Relekar of Karnataka clinched the gold with a timing of 19:09.58, followed by Prathiksha N Gowda (Karnataka) at 19:41.95, while Likhitha G Merupula of Telangana secured bronze with 20:26.11.
The Girls 13–14 years 400m Freestyle (Group 2) saw Karnataka dominating the podium, with Tanvi Gaurav finishing first in 4:57.66 and Idika Bhat taking second at 5:00.49. Telangana’s Jona Shiju earned third place with a timing of 5:02.87.
In Girls 15–17 years 200m Breaststroke (Group 1), Dakshinya Harini Gidijala of Telangana delivered an impressive performance to win gold in 2:55.42, narrowly edging out Pavani Sarayu N of Andhra Pradesh who clocked 2:55.65. Samanvi E S of Karnataka finished third.
The Girls 11–12 years 100m Breaststroke (Group 3) event was won by Drithi Abhilash of Karnataka in 1:26.75, while Samyukta Karthikeyan of Telangana and Sindhura Kongara of Andhra Pradesh finished second and third respectively.
Telangana celebrated a major victory in the Boys 15–17 years 50m Butterfly (Group 1) as Ishan Das secured gold with a time of 26.44. Anish Aniruddha Kore of Karnataka and Goutham S Naidu Baggu of Telangana completed the podium.
In the Girls 13–14 years 50m Butterfly (Group 2), Karnataka swimmers Manya R Wadhwa and Aadya Bharadwaj claimed first and second positions, while Ditya Chowdary Vemulapalli of Telangana took bronze.
Telangana continued its strong showing in the Girls 13–14 years 200m Freestyle (Group 2), with Shivani Karra winning gold in 2:17.93. Hannah Elizabeth Siyo of Kerala and Tanvi Gaurav of Karnataka finished second and third respectively.
In the Boys 11–12 years 100m Backstroke (Group 3), Rohith N. from Tamil Nadu State Aquatic Association emerged victorious, followed by Arjun Sandeep Kaswan of Telangana and Lohitashwa Nagesh of Karnataka.
Adding another gold to Telangana’s tally, Shivani Karra topped the Girls 13–14 years 100m Backstroke (Group 2) with a time of 1:10.82, ahead of Shreya Binil of Kerala and Deetya Bopanna K of Karnataka.
The championship highlighted the rising talent across South India, with Telangana swimmers delivering notable performances on home turf, making the event a grand success both competitively and organisationally.
