BANGALORE: It has been a season of success for the Indian swimmers who are on a high after their superb show at the SAF Games and, on the eve of the LIC 60th Senior National aquatics championship which is set to begin at the BAC pool here on Thursday, that winning feeling has spread right through the ranks.

Rehan Poncha, who spearheads the defending overall champion Karnataka's challenge, summed up the mood. "We had a great run at Colombo doing some of our best timings and it can only get better here. As for me, I want to clock my best in all the five events I am competing in here," said the Bangalore collegian, who will race in the 400m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly and 200 and 400 metre individual medley.

With this being the last outing before the Asian Games at Doha, it is but natural that the swimmers will be keen to go flat out to make the grade. But whether the Indians make it to the medal bracket at Doha is another question altogether.

National coach, S. Pradeep Kumar, put that issue into proper perspective. "We are not looking at medals, but getting into finals. A fifth or sixth place at Asiad would mean a good jump for us. But then again, let us not totally rule out medal possibilities. Somebody like Veerdhawal Khade, who won the 100m freestyle gold and create a record at SAF Games, could do even better," said the coach.

A 40-event card spread over five days should offer great fare to the fans. The host, Karnataka, though starting as an overwhelming favourite, suffered a setback with the absence of Shikha Tandon. The Arjuna Awardee, who bagged the best swimmer award at the last Nationals at Thrissur, is out of action after undergoing a shoulder surgery nine weeks ago. But given its depth, Karnataka once again shouldn't have much trouble in retaining the overall title.

Khade, the teenager from Kolhapur, who now trains under Nihar Ameen at the KCR pool, is a talent worth watching. The sprinter who won two golds and three silvers at Thrissur and followed it up with a scintillating show at SAF, is determined to give his best. "I am aiming to be there at Doha and obviously I will give my best," said Khade.

Another strong contender, who hopes to hold sway in the breaststroke event is Deepak Kumar Singh of Police. The redoubtable Arjun Muralidharan (freestyle and butterfly) and T.K. Senthil Kumar (backstroke), both from the Police team, aim to hang on to their top spots in their pet events. Mandar Divase, the long distance ace, from Police kept improving his 1500m freestyle and 800m freestyle records and he is ready for it again.

Young talent

On the distaff side, the challenge to Karnataka should come from the Maharashtra sensation, the 15-year-old Lekha Kamath, who with her four-gold haul at the SAF Games, was the star at Colombo. Shubha Chittaranjan of MP who till last year had represented Karnataka, and Faria Zaman are the other noteworthy names. The former butterfly and individual medley ace, Richa Misra's name does figure in the starting list for the Police, but the swimmer had gone off the scanner for a long time and it should be interesting how she fares here.

The diving championship at the Jayanagar pool also promises some interesting duels between the Railways, Karnataka, Bengal and Services contestants, especially in the men's section. The field looks loaded with seasoned campaigners like Viraj Patil, Yogesh Watave and G.B. Sharath.

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