New Delhi:
Indian men's team made it to the final of the 4X200m freestyle relay in the Commonwealth Games at the Dr SPM Aquatics Complex on Wednesday.
Team consisting of Rehan Poncha, Rohit Havaldar, Madar Divase and Aaron D'Souza clocked 7 minutes 49.20 seconds to grab the eighth position in the preliminaries.
After reaching the final, Poncha said, "This is the first time we made it to the final and it is a good feeling. Though a medal is not a possibility, we will continue to do well. There is no pressure."
"We were really slow, but for India we will not leave the gold in the final. The level of competition is really tough but we will do good for sure in the final," added D'Souza.
Meanwhile, Virdhawal Khade of India qualified for the semifinals of the men's 100m freestyle after finishing 13th, while Pooja Alva also entered the semifinals of the women's 100m butterfly by bagging the 15th spot, as the top 16 make it to the last four stage.
A para-sport swimmer also brought some smiles as Sachin Verma progressed to the final of the 50m S9 freestyle men category by finishing eighth.
But the other Indians failed to advance. In women's 800m freestyle, Richa Mishra missed the bus and also they could not make a mark in either men's 200m backstroke or women's 200m breaststroke.