Legendary Australian swimming coach Michael Bohl, who guided China to the overall title at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championship 2025, praised India’s growing swimming talent while urging the country to develop more athletes to reach the next level.

China dominated the championship at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, winning 49 medals, including 38 golds. India, however, achieved its best-ever campaign with 13 medals (4 silver, 9 bronze), finishing ninth overall and showcasing the nation’s emerging depth in aquatics.

Bohl, a mentor to Olympic champions like Emma McKeon and Stephanie Rice, highlighted the rise of Indian swimmers such as Srihari Nataraj, Rishab Das, Kushagra Rawat, Rohit B. Benedicton, Sajan Prakash, and Bhavya Sachdeva. He also noted the historic achievements of divers Indiver Sairem and Willson Sing Ningthoujam, who earned India’s first-ever diving medal.

“I think India’s done a great job here. There have been standout performers, particularly among the male swimmers. Any time you get on the podium at an Asian-level meet, it’s a good thing for the country,” Bohl said.

Srihari Nataraj led India with seven medals, while youngsters like Vritti Agarwal, Dhinidhi Desinghu, Saanvi Deshwal, Advait Page, Nithik Nathella, and Jashua Thomas Durai displayed immense promise.

Bohl emphasized that India has a strong population base and potential similar to China’s. “You’ve got some good leading swimmers, you just need more of them. As coaching improves and more swimmers perform well, it will put pressure on the top athletes,” he said.

He concluded, “The top countries have depth beyond one or two stars. Once India develops more swimmers performing at high levels, we’ll see even bigger improvements. There have already been standout performers at this championship.”