Bangladesh’s Any Akter achieved a personal milestone at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on 29 July, clocking her career-best time in the 100m freestyle. Despite the improvement, she remained behind her South Asian peers in overall standings.
She recorded a time of 1 minute 8.43 seconds, a significant improvement from her previous best of 1 minute 12.20 seconds set during the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games. Her performance placed her 77th out of 82 participants globally and 6th among 10 swimmers in Heat 2.
Among South Asian competitors, Sri Lanka’s Hiruki de Silva led the way, finishing 49th with a time of 59.83 seconds. Maldives’ Amna Mirasad came 72nd with 1 minute 4.04 seconds, while Nepal’s Arya Maharjan secured 75th position, clocking 1 minute 5.43 seconds.
Any will return to the pool on 2 August to compete in the 50m freestyle. On the same day, fellow Bangladeshi swimmer Samiul Islam Rafi will participate in the 100m backstroke.
The 16-year-old swimmer earned her spot at the World Championships after a remarkable showing at the national age-group swimming competition in May, where she won a record 12 gold medals.