How did Maana Patel perform at Tokyo Olympics? A detailed look at the Indian swimmer's performance at the previous Olympic Games

Maana Patel is an Indian backstroke swimmer who hails from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The 24-year-old competed in the 100m backstroke event at the 2020 Summer Olympics at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre but failed to progress to the semi-finals of the event.

Despite a valiant effort, she fell short of her personal best times at the Tokyo Olympics. She ended up taking the 39th position overall in the women's category with a time of 1:05.20s, which was not adequate to qualify for the subsequent round.

Maana Patel participated in the first of six heats with only three swimmers and clocked 1:05.20 seconds, which was 2.47 seconds slower than Donata Katai of Zimbabwe, who was the heat leader.

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Maana Patel's swimming career in brief

Patel embarked on her swimming journey when she was just seven years old. At the age of 13, she set a new national record in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:23.41s at the 40th Junior National Aquatics Championship in Hyderabad, surpassing the record of Shikha Tandon (2:26.41s) at the Asian Age Group Championship in Tokyo in 2009.

She later secured gold medals in the 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke events at the National Games. She secured another gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the 60th National School Games in 2015, creating another national record.

At the 12th South Asian Games in 2016, she showcased her prowess securing silver medals in the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke events, and a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle. She also clinched gold in both the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay.

The 24-year-old swimmer also dominated at the 2018 Senior National Aquatic Championships, winning three gold medals. She showcased excellent performance at the 10th Asian Age-group Championships in 2019 in Bengaluru where she earned one gold, four silver, and one bronze.