The Nadal way: How Srihari Nataraj is inspired by the tennis legend
Nataraj became only the second Indian to achieve the A qualifying mark in swimming and will make his Olympics debut at Tokyo 2020
For the past two years, Srihari Nataraj has hunted the Olympic A qualifying mark in backstroke like Rafael Nadal chases down the fuzzy yellow ball on the tennis court. Relentlessly.
Two days after he missed the mark by an agonizing 0.05 seconds, at the Sette Colli meet, Nataraj swam the 100m backstroke in 53.77 seconds, under the 53.85 A qualifying mark, in a time trial to book his spot for Tokyo.
It came a day after Sajan Prakash became the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics with an A mark.
“It's great that we have two A qualifiers this time. It will be a major boost to the swimming culture of the country. You can expect some very fast swims from us,” the 20-year-old told Olympics.com. “I was always motivated but there would be times when I would feel excessively exhausted. I thrive on challenges and so motivation has never been a problem.”
Rafael Nadal routine
Nataraj is a fan of Rafael Nadal, and like the tennis legend has learnt to focus on the process and the ‘routines’ to make sure his mind stays in the moment.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner is famous for his routines on the court. One of it involves placing the energy drink bottle and water bottle down on the ground, one exactly behind each other, diagonally aimed at the court. While drinking he would always sip his energy drink first and then the water. And after that, he would reposition the two bottles the same way.
Similarly, Nataraj likes to maintain a 'routine' before diving into the pool and he did that before the time trial in Rome.
"I am a huge fan of Rafael Nadal and from that's where I think the bottle thing came up," Nataraj admits.
"I packed my bags in the same way. I kept my bottles in the same place. I had my energy drinks and an extra 1.5l of water in three 500ml bottles. They always go in the same spot in the bag. Had lunch and before leaving I always take a shower. It is just the process of getting ready and I have following it for years now."
Nataraj has been raising the bar with almost every international meet since he turned 18. The Bangalore boy met the Olympic ‘B’ qualification mark in 100m backstroke with a national record of 54.69s at the FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary in 2019. Since then, he has been trying the bridge the micro-second gap between an Olympic hopeful to contender.
Even though he missed the cut at the Sette Colli meet in Rome by a whisker, Nataraj grabbed his last chance to secure an Olympic berth at the time trial. Yet, he recalls he felt no pressure before diving in.
"I treated it like any other event. There was no pressure whatsoever. I just followed the same 'routine'."
Michael Phelps' coach
Nataraj spent almost a week training under Genadijus Sokolavas, an American sports scientist who previously worked with Michael Phelps, in February to mend the minor chinks in his armour. That has worked wonders in shaving off those microseconds.
"I have always found it easy to adjust and adapt to his methods. I have changed my stroke rate a bit and basically, we were trying to be more efficient. As in you try to cover the most distance per stroke, increase your arm cycle with the least amount of energy and attain maximum speed. The entire process should be smooth."
However, with just three weeks to go for the mega event in Tokyo he is not looking to incorporate any major changes to his style.
“I will continue to focus on perfection and more efficiency. Things like my technique, my stroke rate, my speed.” The chase is on.