Asian Games 2018: Virdhawal Khade breaks own National record in 50m butterfly

What's the story?

Virdhawal Vikram Khade has broken the Men's 50m Butterfly National Record during his swim in the 50m Butterfly qualification heat races at the 2018 Asian Games being held in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.

In case you didn't know...

The 26-year-old swimmer from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Khade has been the flag bearer for Indian swimming on the world stage for a long time now. He was the only Indian swimmer to qualify for the men's 50 m, 100 m and 200 m Freestyle swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

In addition to his new record, he had broken the Indian National record in the Men's 50 metre Freestyle event earlier during the Asian Games.

The heart of the matter

During Heat No. 2 of the Men's 50 metre Butterfly event on Day 5 of the Asian Games 2018, Virdhawal Khade managed to break the national record when he clocked a time of 24.09 seconds during his swim. Khade won his heat race and sealed the qualification for the final of the Men's 50 metre butterfly event which will be held later in the day.

The previous national record was also held by Khade which was at a time of 24.14 seconds clocked at the Asian Championships in 2019 held at Foshan, China.

Khade has been one of the most prolific swimmers for India on the world stage over the years. He created history when he won the bronze medal for India in the Men's 50 metre butterfly event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

What's next?

Virdhawal Khade qualified for the final of the Men's 50 metre Butterfly event at the fifth spot with his record time and will challenge for a podium finish.

---

The Indian swimmers have done well at the Asian Games, with Srihari Nataraj also breaking the 100-metre backstroke award. This might just be a new dawn for Indian swimming with the performances by the contingent at the Asian Games as a testament for a bright future.