Meet Hashika Ramachandra, Teen Swimmer Breaks 13 Year National Record

Hashika Ramachandra of Karnataka kickstarted the 77th Senior National Aquatic Championships 2024 with a memorable performance as she set a new national record in Women's 400m Freestyle. The 16-year-old clocked 4:24.70 at the International Aquatic Complex in Yemmekere, Mangaluru, on September 10, breaking the previous record set by Jharkhand's Richa Mishra (4:25.76) in 2011. Vritti Agarwal came second, clocking 4:25.09, followed by Bhavya Sachdeva who clocked 4:30.94 finishing in third place.

Who Is Hashika Ramachandra?

Hashika is no stranger to setting records, as she also created a national record in the women’s 200m medley event at the 76th National Aquatic Championships in 2023. The gold medal winner clocked a time of 2:21.15, to easily break the previous record of 2:23.62 also set by Richa Mishra in 2010. 

According to the Deccan Herald, Hashika, who has been swimming since she was four, lost her father, Ramachandra, to pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer in 2017. This posed numerous struggles for the family. Her mother, Latha, reportedly sold their property to encourage Hashika to pursue her dreams.

Hashika reportedly trains at the Dolphin Aquatics in Bengaluru under the tutelage of Coach Madhukumar. Having cliched numerous medals in her debut at the 2022 National Games in Gujarat, the teenager became the first Karnataka athlete in 23 years to bag the 'best female athlete' award after Nisha Millet.

Women At 77th National Aquatic Championships Day 1

Hashika also claimed the top spot in the Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle relay with her team comprising Shirin, Shalini R Dixit, and Naisha. The Karnataka swimmers clocked 8:54.85. Maharashtra's Deepti Raghunath Tilak, Diksha Sandip Yadav, Dakshajaa Dey Upreti, and Aditi Satish Hegde clocked at 9:01.15 to come second. Odisha's Sonia Patel, Divyanka Dibyajyoti Pradhan, Pratyasa Ray, and Shristi Upadhaya came third with 9:03.53.

Another swimmer from Karnataka, Thanya Shadakshari, won the Women’s 200m Breaststroke with a time of 2:40.54. Maharashtra’s Jyoti Bajirao Pati, who clocked 2:42.01 finished second in the event, while Harshitha Jayaram finished third with 2:43.48.

Soubrity Mondal came first in the Women's 100m Backstroke event as she clocked 1:05.51. In second place was Pratyasa Ray who finished with 1:05.82, and the third was Rujuta Prasad Rajadnya who finished with 1:06.30. In the Women's 50m Butterfly event, Mahi Swetraj placed first with 28.33, Manavi Varma came second with 28.67, and Rujuta Prasad Rajadnya came third with 28.70.