Melbourne, Dec 14 (IANS): Indian swimmer Chahat Arora set a national record in the women's 100m breaststroke at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2022 on Wednesday after she finished the race in 1:13.13s at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre pool.

Prior to Chahat, it was Annie Jain's 1:13:50 time that was the best performance by an Indian woman in the 100m breaststroke.

Arora came third in heat 1 but she was far off from qualifying for the semi-finals, finishing 42nd among 55 competing across eight heats. Notably, only the top 16 progressed to the semi-finals.

Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte, a London 2012 Olympic champion, topped the overall heats in 1:03.81s, which was 9.32s quicker than Chahat. The 19-year-old Lara Van Niekerk of South Africa came second in 1:03.93s while Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Lilly King of the USA came third in 1:03.94s.

The 25-year old Chahat will participate in the women's 50m breaststroke event on Saturday. She created India's national record in the 50m breaststroke at the National Aquatic Championships in September with a timing of 32.94s.

Meanwhile, Siva Sridhar will compete in the 100m individual medley on Thursday. He bettered his national record in the men's 200m individual medley on Tuesday but failed to qualify for the final.

The FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2022, the 16th edition of the competition, will conclude on Sunday.