Aryan Nehra Breaks National Record In 800m Freestyle To Qualify For Commonwealth Games And Asian Games

Aryan Nehra has done something no Indian swimmer has ever managed before. He went under eight minutes in the men's 800 metre freestyle, clocking 7:59.36 at the Senior National Aquatic Championships 2026 in Ahmedabad on Saturday. It broke his own national record of 8:00.76,which significantly a mark he'd held since 2019, and the swim earned him qualification for both the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, later this year.

He improved on his old mark by 1.40 seconds, and that's enough to make him the first Indian ever to break the eight minutes in this event particularly. It came on the back of strong week already for the Gujarat swimmer. Just a few days earlier, he'd broken his own national record in the 1500 metre freestyle too by 15:14.88 to beat his previous time of record set 15:20.91, which he'd set at the Asian Games all the way back in 2023. That swim he had already locked in his Commonwealth Games spot, so this time 800 metre gold was really his second big milestone of the championship.

Nehra wasn't the only one making headlines either. There are several other swimmers who also broke the records on the second-last day of the competition. Olympian Sajan Prakash, he also qualified for the Commonwealth Games in the 200 metre butterfly, and Srihari Nataraj booked his place at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in the 50 metre backstroke. As of Rujula S knocked time off her own women's 50 metre freestyle record, clocking 26.23 seconds, while B. Benedicton Rohit broke the men's 50 metre butterfly record twice in a single day once in the heats, then again in the final, where he touched in 23.63 seconds for gold.

Sportscapefeels that breaking two national records in one week, especially in events like the 800 and 1500 metre freestyle, where bad conditioning shows up fast and there's nowhere to hide. Going sub-eight minutes isn't just a personal best for Nehra, it's a wall Indian swimming has been trying to break through for years. And he didn't just do it quietly as he locked in qualification for two major multi-sport events while he was at it. Heading into Glasgow and the Asian Games, Nehra isn't walking in hoping to perform. He's already shown he can deliver exactly when it matters most.