Khade holds his own against best

It didn’t amount to nothing,after all. Local fans went home to give their vocal chords a much-needed rest,knowing they would need to exercise them on Wednesday again when Khade returns to participate in the medal round of the event.

While a medal was never expected of the Indian swimmers,the Kolhapur lad exceeded whatever were the hopes from him by finishing seventh in qualifying to enter the final with a timing of 24.38.

Coming as it did on the back of a sixth-place finish in the 4×100 free,the result was remarkable,indicating that Indian swimming is indeed looking up. Or at least Khade is.

“I am aiming for a top-five finish tomorrow. Now I believe I can do it,given that my best in this event is 24.1,” Khade said.

The performance means a lot more to Khade as his form,coming into the Games,was indifferent to say the least and he even failed to achieve the qualifying mark.

“I felt bad after failing to qualify,but now I think I’ve proved that I can raise my performance whenever I want.”

Meanwhile,England bounced back in style,winning two gold medals as Francesca Halsall and Liam Tancock finished first in women’s 50m fly and men’s 50m backstroke respectively. Australia added one more gold to their kitty,with Leiston Pickett pipping compatriot Leisel Jones to the post in women’s 50m fly.

South African para-swimmer Natalie Du Toit defended her 50m freestyle title,while,in a thrilling 200m free final,Robert Renwick held off a charging Kenrick Monk to give Scotland their first gold in the pool.