Apeksha Fernandes finished eighth in the 200m women’s butterfly summit clash in Lima, Peru, becoming the first Indian woman to reach the final of the World Junior Swimming Championships.
On September 2, the 17-year-old finished last in the eight-swimmer final with a time of 2:19.14. Fernandes had rewritten her own ‘Best Indian Time’ of 2:18.18 in the heats to qualify for the final, becoming the first Indian woman to do so in a world meet.
Her previous best was 2:18.39 in June, which is still awaiting approval from the Swimming Federation of India.
A timing is considered a national record in swimming only if it is achieved at the National Aquatics Championships.
As a result, the times recorded in other meets are referred to as the ‘Best Indian time.’ In other results, Vedaant Madhavan was disqualified for a false start in the men’s 200m freestyle event heats, and Sambhavv Rama Rao finished 27th overall with a time of 1:55.71.
