Despite seven golds, Nataraj feels didn’t swim fast enough
PUNE: Teenage swimming sensation Srihari Nataraj has been making a splash and is regarded as a future champion.
At the Asian Games he broke three national records and reached the finals of 100m backstroke, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat since 1986. Coming into the Khelo India Youth Games, the spotlight was trained on him as one the stars of the meet and he did not disappoint. By the end of the swimming event, the 18-year-old from Bengaluru justified his status, ending the Games with a whopping seven gold medals – five individuals and two relay medals — becoming the most decorated athlete of the Games. He also broke his own record in 50m backstroke. From 26.19 seconds at the 2018 Asian Games, he lowered it to 26.16 secs on Tuesday.
Yet, Nataraj was not fully satisfied. “I was aiming for sub-25 seconds timing in 50m backstroke. Before coming for the final, I clocked 25.9 seconds in practice session, so I was expecting the final timing to be in the 25s. But that did not happen,” Nataraj said after his event.
“However, this was the first event of the year and I just trained for two and half weeks. I did not have any target on my mind. I just wanted to win gold medals in all the seven events that I competed in and I succeeded in it.”
Nataraj won individual gold medals in 200m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke. He won two gold medals with relay teams. Currently busy preparing for his 12th boards in March, Nataraj is aiming for the World Championships and 2020 Olympics qualification next.
“I will have to buck up as the World Championships are in July. I have already attained B qualification mark for the World Championships, and now I am trying for ‘A’ qualification timing. Then I will target for the A qualification mark for the Tokyo Olympics,” he said.
“To be honest the 2024 Olympics will be a realistic target for me to achieve anything significant at that level.”
Speaking about his progression in 200m backstroke, Nataraj said, “I haven’t yet peaked in my timing. It hasn’t improved much in the last two years, like the way my 100m did. Hopefully, this year I can get the 200m below 1minute 57 seconds,” he said.