Swimmer Srihari Nataraj inches closer to joining Sajan Prakash for Tokyo Olympics 2020

Indian swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash have managed to do what was deemed impossible in swimming – to achieve an A cut for the Olympic Games.

In successive days, both Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash breached the ‘A’ cut for the Tokyo Olympics in two different events.

In a time-trial at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Srihari Nataraj clocked 53.77s bettering the Olympic qualification cut-off of 53.85s, on the last day of the Olympic qualification period.

Earlier, Sajan Prakash earned a historic first 'A' mark in the 200m butterfly on Saturday. Srihari Nataraj missed the cut by a slender margin of 0.05s in the same event.

It was an amazing experience to train under Dr Genadijus Sokolovas. Had a great week learning and working with him. Looking forward to improving and working with @Nihar44190177 and Dr Genadijus.really thankful to @swimmingfedera1 @Media_SAI @KirenRijiju for making this happen. pic.twitter.com/geysKJ4L9H

— Srihari Nataraj (@srihari3529) February 25, 2021

Awaiting FINA's nod on Srihari Nataraj's timing

In a statement issued earlier, the Swimming Federation of India said:

“It will be for FINA to accept the result from the time trail at an approved qualification event, it is done routinely at many accredited meets; as in the recent case of the US Olympics team trials for the 400m freestyle event. We are very excited with the A cuts achieved by both our swimmers and hoping this result will be considered by FINA for Srihari to join Sajan Prakash as a direct qualification (A cut) entry for Tokyo 2020.”

Srihari Nataraj’s results of his time trial shall be sent to FINA by the host federation along with the regular meet results. If FINA approves the timing, only then can Srihari Nataraj make it to the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Why FINA’s nod is necessary

Swimmers in time-trials do not compete against other competitors. Instead they try and better their individual timings. The organizers of the Sette Colli Trophy allowed a time trial for Srihari Nataraj on the last day of the event.

Srihari Nataraj was earlier nominated for a universality place for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. However, after Sajan Prakash made the ‘A’ cut, Srihari Nataraj’s spot through the universality quota was ruled out. Instead, a time trial took place and the Bengaluru swimmer did not disappoint.

If FINA accepts the time trial, this will be the first time two Indian swimmers will participate in the Olympic Games. It will be the first Olympic Games for Srihari Nataraj while Sajan Prakash has competed in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.