Commonwealth Games 2022 swimming: Olympian Srihari Nataraj makes 100m backstroke final
Srihari Nataraj will appear in his maiden CWG final. Sajan Prakash and Kushagra Rawat failed to advance from their respective heats.
Tokyo Olympian Srihari Nataraj produced an impressive timing of 54.55s in the men’s 100 backstroke event to qualify for the final at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, UK, on Friday.
Competing at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, Srihari Nataraj finished fourth in semi-final 2 and seventh overall to make his maiden CWG final.
Srihari Nataraj, competing in his second Commonwealth Games, had made the semis in 2018 in the men’s 50m and 100m backstroke events but had failed to advance further.
Pieter Coetze of South Africa, who had clocked 53.91s to top the heats, was the fastest across the two semi-finals in 53.67s. A total of eight swimmers qualified for the finals and will vie for the medals on Saturday.
Earlier, Srihari Nataraj, 21, had timed 54.68s in the men’s 100m backstroke heats to finish third in heat 4 and fifth overall in the heats, which had 38 swimmers.
Srihari Nataraj, who holds the 100m backstroke national record of 53.77s set last year, has been in terrific form of late.
Last month, Srihari Nataraj won gold medals in the 50m and 100m backstroke events at Singapore National Swimming Championships. However, the 21-year-old will need to be at his best on Saturday to ensure only the second medal for an Indian swimmer at the Commonwealth Games.
Para swimmer Prasanta Karmakar, who won the bronze medal in the men’s 50-metre freestyle S9 event in 2010, is the only Indian swimmer so far to have won a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, Srihari Nataraj’s fellow Olympian Sajan Prakash was eliminated in the men’s 50m butterfly event. He finished eighth and last in heat 6 with a time of 25.01s. Sajan Prakash will also compete in the 100m and 200m butterfly races.
In the 400m men’s freestyle race, CWG debutant Kushagra Rawat clocked 3:57.45 and failed to make the finals after finishing 14th in the heats. Northern Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen topped the 21-swimmers’ race in 3:47.43.
Kushagra Rawat, the national record holder in the 400m men’s freestyle, will also be in action in the 200m and 1500m freestyle races later in the competition. India’s Advait Page will only compete in the 1500m freestyle event.