Swimming: Sajan Prakash receives FINA scholarship to train in Australia for Paris Olympics qualification

Indian Olympian swimmer Sajan Prakash has received a scholarship from the Federation Internationale de Nation (FINA) to train abroad to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.

Sajan will travel to Australia to train at Bond University in Gold Coast under the guidance of head swimming coach Chris Mooney.

Mooney has trained many medal winners from Australia, including Kaylee McKeown (3 gold medals at Tokyo Olympics 2020) and Taylor McKeown (gold at Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014).

Sajan Prakash, whose personal best in men's 200m butterfly is 1:56.38s, aims to earn a spot for the Paris Olympics with an A standard qualification mark.

"It will be a good opportunity for me to train under a renowned coach and use the world-class facilities at Bond University," Sajan was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

"My first goal is to attain the A standard qualification mark for the Paris Olympics which should be around 1.56.30s The competition has become tougher and I believe this stint will help me achieve it," the Indian national record holder added.

Sajan's best timing was achieved at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, which helped him become the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. However, he failed to qualify for the semi-finals after finishing 24th (1:57.22s) in the heats out of 38 participants.

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Sajan Prakash won two gold medals at National Games following Asian Games disappointment

Sajan Prakash won a gold medal in the 200m butterfly event at the 37th National Games in Goa with a games record of 1:59.38s. He added another gold in the 100m butterfly event, clocking 53.79s ahead of Maharashtra's Mihir Ambre (54.32s) and Tamil Nadu's B Benediction Rohit (55.00).

In the previous edition of the National Games in Surat last year, the Kerala athlete won five golds, two silvers, and a bronze to clinch the best male athlete award.

In September this year, Sajan Prakash finished fifth in the men's 200m butterfly final event with a timing of 1:57.44s at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.