The 16-year-old Indian swimmer, Tanishi Gupta, has set a national record in the women’s 100m backstroke event. Gupta competed in the Junior National Aquatics Championships in Bhubaneswar and obtained a time of 1:03.36, beating the previous national record of Olympian Maana Patel.
The record-breaking swim is another milestone to Gupta in her fast-growing career and it further cemented her position as one of the most versatile and promising aquatic athletes in India in various fields.
Tanishi Gupta sets the National Record of 100m Backstroke
Tanishi Gupta clocked 1:03.36 in the 100m backstroke, improving Maana Patel’s previous national record of 1:03.48 by 0.12 seconds. The record-shattering performance demonstrated Gupta’s continued improvement in the backstroke events alongside her well-known butterfly strength.
The performance highlights the increasing intensity of competition in the junior national meets in India where the young and senior national records are being rewritten by the young talent.
Eclipsing Maana Patel’s Previous Benchmark
The last national record in the 100-meter backstroke women’s event was set by Tokyo Olympian Maana Patel who had set the record at 1:03.48.
Patel has been a long time role model in Indian backstroke swimming.Gupta’s new mark represents an important milestone in Indian backstroke swimming and highlights the continued improvement of the sport’s national standards.
Dual Record-Breaking Exhibition at Bhubaneswar
The 100m backstroke by Tanishi Gupta was just one of the several others who set a record in the national aquatics championship at Bhubaneswar in junior level.
Gupta also broke the national record in the 50-meter butterfly race among women at the same meet and her time was 27.41 seconds. By doing so she also improved her previous national record in the event, and was a two-time record-breaker in the event.
Key Achievements and Recent Performance Timeline
Gupta has been on the verge of an impressive season both domestically and internationally:
79th Senior National Aquatics Championships (Ahmedabad, June 2026): Gupta set the country record of 100 meters butterfly twice on the same day in the women’s category. She initially broke Nina Venkatesh who had a previous record of 1:02.51 when she recorded 1:01.97 in the heats and then improved it to 1:00.07 in the final to establish a new Best Indian Time.
12th Asian Age Group Championships (Bangkok): At the 12th Asian Age Group Championships in Bangkok, Gupta won five bronze medals and recorded an India Best Time and an open-age-group relay Best Time.
National Dominance: At 16, Gupta holds India’s fastest times across age groups in the women’s 50m and 100m butterfly, according to her athlete profile.
Athlete Biography: Tanishi Gupta and her rise
Tanishi Gupta began to swim in India at the age of eight and her progress up the competition ladder was very fast.
Young Achievement: At the tender age of 12, she was already participating in the National Games and won medals when she had to compete against senior national players.
Dual Training Base: As she continued with her good domestic foundation with Dolphin Aquatics, Gupta moved to the United States to train in high performance.
Known Talent: At 14 years old, she was performing in the 100m butterfly, which earned her an invitation to the USA Swimming Zone Select Camp and the feature story with the international swimming portal SwimSwam.
What the Achievement Means for Indian Swimming
The milestone performance of Tanishi Gupta in Bhubaneswar is an indication of a change of direction in Indian swimming. Through her possession of national standards in separate categories of strokes; butterfly and backstroke, Gupta demonstrates an increasing level of depth, professionalism, and technical development in the swimming ecosystem of the country. Her ability to record national records in both senior and junior championships highlights the closing gap between Indian swimming standards and international competition.
