Day 1 Report: India’s Mixed Fortunes at the FISU World University Games 2025 Highlighted by Rohit Benedicton’s Historic National Records
The opening day of the FISU World University Games 2025 in Chengdu unfolded as a long, eventful journey for the Indian contingent, marked by early exits, a few hard-fought contests, and most memorably, a national record-breaking feat that turned heads.
While results across many sports reflected the depth of competition on the global university stage, it was 19-year-old swimmer Rohit Benedicton who stole the spotlight with an extraordinary performance that rewrote Indian swimming history.
India’s day began in the swimming pool, where expectations were modest given past performances, but glimpses of promise soon emerged. In the men’s 400m freestyle heats, Shivank Vishwanath clocked a time of 4:06.61, and Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda followed with a respectable 3:59.45.
Although both fell short of making the final, the improvement from their entry times was a positive sign. The women’s 200m backstroke saw Pratyasa and Shrungi swimming in the slowest heats, clocking 2:24.55 and 2:31.24 respectively again missing the semifinals but adding valuable experience.
It was, however, the 50m butterfly where Indian swimming truly found its hero. Entering with an entry time of 24.88 seconds, Rohit Benedicton stunned the field by clocking 24.00 seconds in the heats, breaking the longstanding national record held by Veerdhawal Khade.
Qualifying for the semifinals, Rohit came back in the night session to deliver an even better performance, finishing in 23.96 seconds. Though he placed sixth in his semifinal heat, Rohit’s time made him the first Indian swimmer to go under 24 seconds in the event, offering a rare and genuine highlight for Indian swimming on an international stage.
His teammate Harsh Saroha could not progress, finishing with a time of 25.41 seconds. Other swimming events during the day included the men’s and women’s 4×100 freestyle relays, where the Indian teams finished outside the top eight, underlining the gap at the global level despite moments of individual improvement. Vidith’s effort in the 100m breaststroke was also notable; he clocked 1:02.02, a personal best, but fell just 0.52 seconds short of the semifinals.
Elsewhere, the badminton courts offered a reassuring start. Facing Macau in the mixed team event, India showed class and depth. The men’s doubles pair of Sathish and Saneeth opened proceedings with a straightforward win, followed by Devika’s comfortable victory in the women’s singles. Saneeth then sealed the tie with a win in men’s singles, and India wrapped up the encounter 5-0 without dropping a match.
The real test, however, looms next against Hong Kong, which is expected to challenge India’s lineup far more.
The table tennis arena saw a tense contest against Romania in the women’s team group stage. India started strongly when Sayali delivered a clean 3-0 win in the opening match. Momentum shifted as Suhana lost her match in straight games, but Taneesha fought brilliantly in a five-game battle to keep India in contention.
In the end, Suhana’s second loss meant India narrowly went down 2-3. Later in the evening, the Indian men’s team faced a formidable Japanese side, a fixture that tested them heavily.
The tennis courts provided some of the day’s toughest moments. Teertha Shashank bowed out in the round of 128 with a heavy 0-6, 1-6 defeat to a Swiss opponent.
In the round of 64, Kabir Hans showed resilience by forcing a third set against Uzbekistan’s Maksim Shin but ultimately fell 2-6, 6-4, 4-6. With these losses, Indian hopes in men’s singles came to an early close, reflecting the stiff standard at this level.
In fencing, India entered with a sizeable contingent. The standout was Mitva, who after winning four of her six group stage bouts, cruised through her round of 64 clash 15-6 before falling in a close match 11-15 to Germany’s Zittel in the round of 32. Meanwhile, Tanuja, Mumtaj, and Yashkeerat couldn’t get past their group stages, while in men’s sabre, only Abhay Shinde advanced to the knockout rounds before losing narrowly 13-15 in the round of 64.
The rest of the men’s team Dhruv, Chirag, and Aditya found the going tough against international opponents.
Taekwondo presented another steep challenge for Indian athletes. Shanaz Parveen was defeated in the women’s individual poomsae by Croatia’s Lucija, while Tanishq Pareekh lost to Australia’s Griffin in the men’s event.
The mixed pair, Yash Malinda and Ritu Yadav, also exited in the round of 16 against China. While results did not favour India, the exposure against world-class opposition remains valuable.
The women’s volleyball team had a difficult day too, suffering their second consecutive straight-set loss in the group stage, this time to Poland with scores of 15-25, 13-25, and 15-25. With two defeats, hopes of progressing to the next round now rely on improbable outcomes.
By the end of the day, India had featured in action across seven sports: swimming, badminton, table tennis, tennis, fencing, taekwondo, and volleyball.
Though the medal tally remained empty, the day belonged unequivocally to Rohit Benedicton, whose double national record in the 50m butterfly lifted spirits and offered a glimpse of what Indian athletes can achieve even amid tough international fields. His performance ensured that India ended Day 1 not just with lessons learned, but also with genuine pride and hope for the days ahead in Germany.
