Swimming couple Virdhawal and Rujuta Khade break National Games records to be crowned fastest swimmers

India’s fastest swimming couple Virdhawal Khade and Rujuta Khade of Maharashtra created a buzz with their remarkable performances at the ongoing 37th National Games held at the Campal Swimming Pool in Panaji, Goa, on Tuesday, October 31.

In the fiercely contested men’s 50m freestyle event, Virdhawal clocked 22.82s to pip Karnataka’s sensational swimmer Srihari Nataraj for a gold medal. Srihari stopped the clock at 22.91s for the silver while Maharashtra’s Mihir Ambre took the bronze with a time of 22.99s.

In the final swimming event of the day, Rujuta doubled the joy for the Khade family with another gold. She bettered the Games record with a timing of 26.42s to win the 50m women’s freestyle gold. Assam’s Shivangi Sharma (26.80s) and West Bengal’s Janhvi Choudhary (26.89s) took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

“It is very special for the both of us. We’ve been winning this event together since 2019, but every time it feels just as special as the first time. Here today, winning the medal feels great, but setting the National Games record together makes it even more special for the both of us," Rujuta told the media after accounting for the new milestone.

Virdhawal Khade retires from domestic competitions

A day after winning the gold in the men’s 50m freestyle event, Virdhawal Khade decided to call time on his domestic career. Incidentally, he won his first national medal in 2001 in Goa, and 22 years later bagged another one to bow out in style. At the age of 16, he became the youngest Indian swimmer to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

A couple of years later, the Kolhapur-born swimmer halted the country’s wait for a medal from swimming in the Asian Games after he bagged bronze medal in the 50m butterfly event in the Guangzhou edition in 2010.

“Earlier I could do 10 events without breaking a sweat, but even 3 events feel like a tall order now. I still enjoy the nerves I get before the race though. I don’t think that feeling will ever leave me. This was my last event in India. You might see me again as a coach someday, but this was my last competitive race here for sure,” the 32-year-old Khade was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Virdhawal and Rujuta married in 2017 after swimming became their strong connection. In 2019 when Rutuja won the 50m freestyle title at the National Championships, the Khades became India’s fastest couple as Virdhawal also won in the same category.