Navy dominate as Army set two national records

The Bangladesh Navy is dominating the 35th National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Competition, though the Bangladesh Army stole the spotlight with two national records on the third day in Dhaka.

Hosted at Mirpur's Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex since 28 October, the Max Group-sponsored event featured 10 swimming finals on Friday. These two new marks take the total national records broken to 16, adding to six from day one and eight on day two.

The Army women's team delivered a standout performance, winning gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Mosammat Mukti Khatun, Mosammat Chumma Khatun, Irfana Khatun and Mosammat Jui Akter clocked 9 minutes 47.99 seconds, eclipsing the previous Navy record of 9:50.01.

Irfana Khatun claimed her second record in the women's 50m breaststroke, touching the wall in 34.57 seconds for gold. She bettered the old 34.85-second mark set by Navy swimmer Mahfuza Khatun Shila.

Despite Friday's Army success, the Navy ended day three leading with 28 gold, 18 silver and 13 bronze medals. The Army follows with 12 gold, 18 silver and 22 bronze. BKSP currently holds two silver and six bronze, while Nikli Swimming Club has earned two bronze.

The flagship event concludes on Saturday afternoon. Naval Chief and swimming federation president Admiral Khondkar Misbah Ul Azeem attends as chief guest. National Sports Council executives Doulatuzzaman Khan and Mohammad Jahed Parvez Chowdhury, alongside Max Group chairman Engineer Golam Mohammad Alamgir, will be special guests, with federation general secretary Syed Aminul Haque Dewan Sojol chairing the ceremony.