Tokyo Olympics: Swimmer Srihari Nataraj keen to make most of lifeline

Express News Service

CHENNAI: At many stages in the past couple of months, ace swimmer Srihari Nataraj may have thought that his chance to directly qualify for the Olympics had gone. The 20-year-old, who has achieved the ‘B’ qualification mark for the Olympics, won gold in Uzbekistan in April with a timing of 54.07s in the 100m backstroke event – his pet event – but fell short of the ‘A’ mark to seal automatic entry to Tokyo by an agonising 0.22 seconds.

Once the swimmer returned home to Bengaluru, as his coach Nihar Ameen says, it seemed like just a matter of a few more events for Srihari to make the cut. But an increase in the number of COVID cases and the subsequent travel restrictions placed on India through the month of May put paid to those hopes. The swimmers have got a lifeline now with meets in Serbia – on June 19 and 20 – and Italy (June 25-27) before the cut-off date of June 27.

Srihari, who left for Serbia on Tuesday night, exuded confidence about his chances of making the cut. In Serbia, the swimmer will be able to train in the pool and get ideal preparation for the event. “I am very relieved. I am looking forward to the trip. I am hoping it will go well. I have done all my preparation and it is now time to execute my plans,” Srihari told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.

While these two upcoming events will decide his Olympic fate, the youngster doesn’t seem to be taking any extra pressure. “It is the last two chances to qualify. I am fortunate that I have got these opportunities. I have never taken pressure. I am not going to complain that I didn’t qualify because of the lockdown. It would have been great to be 0.22 seconds faster in Uzbekistan, but what happened cannot be changed. There is nothing to complain about,” he insisted.

Ideally, of course, Srihari would have liked to seal his Olympic berth in Uzbekistan itself considering how close he was to achieving his target. Instead of wallowing in despair, though, Srihari and his coach have ensured that they learn their lessons and make improvements going forward.

They have roped in the services of Italy’s Stefano Nura, who is a swimming biomechanics analyst, and American sports science expert Genadijus Sokolovas to help the swimmers. “We have been in touch with some specialists who have done an analysis of Srihari’s races. They have found a few weak links that need to be corrected. We have been working on that,” coach Ameen said.

According to Srihari, conserving his energy for the finals and not going all out in the heats could be one of the ways for him to improve his timing.

“In Uzbekistan, I could have focused just on the finals and not gone all out in the heats. That could have maybe made a difference. I need to open a bit faster and make sure I get my turns right to maximise my chances,” he pointed out.

Sajan to travel later: Kerala’s Sajan Prakash, who is also looking to achieve the ‘A’ mark, will leave for Serbia closer to the competition since he is travelling from Dubai. While Indian citizens don’t need a visa for Serbia, Sajan’s visa for the trip of Italy is yet to arrive. “Since I am travelling from Dubai, there is no need for me to leave as early as Srihari has. Srihari needs to spend a designated time in Serbia in order to be exempt from quarantine in Italy,” Sajan said.