Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj dreams of meeting tennis legend Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics in 2024

Srihari Nataraj had a close finish in the qualification race for the Paris Olympics 2024. He has cemented his place for the second time in the Olympics and will be representing India with the 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu. Nataraj will be part of the 100-meter backstroke competition in Paris this year.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to take part in my second Olympics and glad to have been selected," Nataraj told The Bridge upon his selection.

He also mentioned that his focus would be to win the race and get Gold for India, but he also hopes to meet the Tennis legend, Rafael Nadal. Nadal opted to miss out on Wimbledon 2024 to prepare himself for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

Srihari Nataraj qualified for the big event based on the University Quota since no Indian swimmer was able to qualify as per the Olympic Selection Time (B time) or receive a FINA invite.

"It would have been even sweeter if I had achieved the 'A' qualifying time as targeted. But it is what it is," said Nataraj after making it to the list of Swimming team representing India in Paris.

The Paris Olympics will be his second appearance in the big event. During his previous appearance in the games, Srihari Nataraj finished 27th out of 40 in the men's heats with a time of 54.31 seconds. His timing was not enough for the swimmer to qualify for the semi-final round.

During his first appearance in 2020, Nataraj made history by achieving the Olympic Qualification Timing with an 'A' certificate.

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A positive season for Srihari Nataraj in 2023

Indian swimmers have not come out with strong performances to qualify for the Olympics 2024. However, Srihari Nataraj is the table topper in the World Aquatics points table for male Indian swimmers with 849 points. The 2023 season for the 21-year-old has been positive and Nataraj will be hopeful for the upcoming Olympics.

He had a positive outing in the 2023 Asian Games. Nataraj was part of three performances that surpassed the national best timing. During the National Games in Goa in 2023, he was also named as the best male athlete and clinched 10 medals during the event.

In the recently held Asian Group Championships, Srihari Nataraj won a silver medal in the 50m backstroke competition. Nataraj made headlines in 2019 during the 2019 South Asian Games. He clinched four gold medals during the event in the 50-meter backstroke, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke, and 4x100-meter medley relay.