Ahmedabad, 2 October 2025: China once again underlined their supremacy in the pool, clinching the overall champion title at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championship 2025 with a phenomenal haul of 49 medals (38 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze) at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex yesterday. For India, the championship marked a historic breakthrough as the contingent delivered their best-ever campaign, collecting 13 medals (4 silver, 9 bronze) and finishing ninth overall, a testament to the country’s growing depth in aquatics.
At the helm of China’s all-conquering campaign was Michael Bohl, a legendary swimming coach from Australia with over 33 years of experience. Bohl, who has guided athletes to Olympic podiums in every edition between 2008 and 2021, counts five-time Olympic gold medallist Emma McKeon and three-time champion Stephanie Rice among his most celebrated protégés.
We didn’t know what to expect coming into the meet, the last time it was held was in 2016 and China had 18 gold medal and that was the target we were shooting for, and I believe we got beyond that so we are very happy,” commented the Australian Sports Medal and the Medal of the Order of Australia recipient.
Meanwhile, India has just begun making their mark in the sport with the emergence of young swimmers like Srihari Nataraj, Rishab Das, Kushagra Rawat, Rohit B Benedicton, Sajan Prakash and Bhavya Sachdeva who earned individual medals for India in swimming while Indiver Sairem and Willson Sing Ningthoujam made history, roping in India’s first ever medal in diving.
“I think India’s done a great job here. There’s been some standout performers. I think the males in particular have done very well. A female got a medal I think in the 400 freestyle on Wednesday night. So any time you’re getting onto the podium at an Asian level meet, it’s a good thing for the country,” Bohl explained.
Srihari Nataraj headlined the Indian contingent with seven medals (3 individual, 4 relay) but the Indian contingent was filled with talented youngsters like Vritti Agarwal, Dhinidhi Desinghu, Saanvi Deshwal, Advait Page, Nithik Nathella and Jashua Thomas Durai who showed immense promise and potential in this Asian meet.
“I think you’ve got some good leading swimmers, you just need more of them. And I think you’ve got the population over there. There’s a very big population as you know in India, very similar to China. So I think as the coaching improves, as you get more critical mass and more swimmers performing well, it puts pressure on the top guys,” Bohl added.
“I think if you look at the top countries in the world, USA, Australia, it’s not just one or two swimmers. There’s an underpinning group that are doing a really good job putting pressure on the top swimmers. So I think as soon as you start to get more depth, you’ll see even bigger improvements in swimming. There’s certainly been some standout performers for India in the 11th Asian Aquatics Championship 2025,” he concluded.
