PANJIM: Rishabh Das, a Class X student of Fr Agnel School, Vashi, created history by winning two medals in swimming at the 11th Asian Age Group Swimming Championship 2024, which concluded in New Clark City, Philippines.
Rishabh was the only male swimmer to qualify for the event from Maharashtra. He won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke in a time of 57.33 sec and a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2min 05.73 sec.
The event had over 1,400 participants from 45 countries and is considered to be the premier swimming event at the Asian level. Previously, Rishabh had won seven medals at the Khelo India Youth Games held in Chennai, just two weeks back.
Inspite of being in Class X, Rishabh balanced his studies with his training and hence the success. He will be appearing for his Board exams two days after his return from Philippines.
Rishabh’s performance adds to the Agnel legacy of 22 international medals won by Agnel students till date at the international level.
Post his exams, Rishabh will focus on training for the junior and senior Nationals in an attempt to qualify for the World Junior meet scheduled for 2025. He trains at the Fr Agnel Swimming Pool, which is now a Khelo India Accredited Academy under the guidance of Coach Gokul Kamath, an former Agnelite himself and Rutuja Udeshi, who is also an International swimmer and an former trainee at the Agnel swimming pool.
Rishabh’s performance at the Asian level has made the entire institution proud and we hope to see him reach the Olympics and the Asian Games in the near future.