Compatriot utkarsh patil

Mohamed Anas Imran Beg: Indian swimmer Rishabh Das booked his place in the men’s 100m backstroke final at the Asian Games after producing a strong performance in the heats on Sunday, finishing fifth overall with a time of 54.85 seconds.

Das finished third in Heat 3 and advanced to Monday’s final, keeping India’s hopes alive in the event. He finished 0.63 seconds behind second-placed Japanese swimmer Hidekazu Takehara, while China’s Asian record holder Xu Jiayu topped the overall standings in 52.63 seconds.

Compatriot Utkarsh Patil, however, narrowly missed out on a place in the final. Patil clocked 56.19 seconds to finish sixth in his heat and 12th overall, leaving him as a reserve for the final.