India's flop show in swimming ends

Doha, Dec 7 (UNI) India's agony in the pool finally ended with Arjun Muralidharan failing to qualify in the 50m backstroke event as the swimming competition here in the Asian Games concluded today.

The Indians were thoroughly exposed against a high class field and none of them qualified from their heats in this competition, and almost all swimmers who came here were experienced with lot of International exposure.

But here the Indians sank without a trace and they must have heaved a sigh of relief that competition is over and they are spared from further humiliation. Though it remains to be seen what they gained by coming here except for failing in heats! National champion Arjun Murlidharan, whose carrer best in 50m backstroke is given in the records as 27.63 clocked dismal 28.15 to finish sixth in the field of eight.

Even if he had repeated his best, he would not have qualified because the heat leader Sung Min of Korea timed 25.98 and was followed by Japan's Masafumi Yamaguchi (26.06) and Danil Bugakov of Uzbekistan(27.12).

And the two swimmers, whom Arjun left behind, were Vietnam's Do Huy Long (28.29) and Kuwait's Zainalabdeen Qali (29.36), and less said the better about these two last finishers.

The time difference between the heat leader and the Indian was a stunning 2.17 sec.

The Indians are heading home tomorrow, having got thoroughly exposed while trying to get the so-called exposure.

UNI HSB DH GC1715