Shikha Tandon eliminated in both semifinals

Melbourne, Mar 19 (UNI) Indian swimmers found themselves in troubled waters with Shikha Tandon failing to go beyond the semifinals in both the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle while her compatriots made a pathetic show in the Commonwealth Games at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre here today.

Puneet Rana (30.93s) was a poor sixth in 50m Breaststroke heat, while Arjun Muralidharan (56.74s) proved another also-ran, finishing at the same position in men's 100m butterfly.

Rehan Poncha, in men's 400m individual medley, was eliminated after clocking 4:46.79s to finish fifth in the heat.

In the women's section, Shikha Tandon qualified for the semifinals in the 50M backstroke with 31.50s but a poor timing of 31.53s saw her finish a disappointing seventh in the semifinals.

It was the same story in 50m freestyle, where Shikha qualified for the semifinals clocking 27.28s in the heats but her performance dipped just when she needed to raise it and she finished last with 27.35s.

In 100m freestyle heat for the Elite Athletes with Disabilities (EAD), K Pande was eliminated after clocking 1:36.88s to finish fourth in heat.

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