Indian swimmers to compete at Olympic qualifiers in Serbia and Italy
All eyes will be on Olympic hopefuls Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash.
Indian swimmers will continue their quest for Tokyo 2020 berths at two Olympic qualifying events in June.
The first one will be the Belgrade Trophy in Serbia from June 19 to 20 while the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, from June 25 to 27, will be the second.
The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) has named a seven-member squad for the Belgrade meet while a five-member team will be travelling to Rome.
The Indian team features Olympic-hopefuls Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash alongside seasoned back-stroker Maana Patel, who recently impressed at an international meet in Uzbekistan.
Promising youngsters Aryan Nehra, Shoan Ganguli, Tanish Mathew and Kenisha Gupta, all of whom are part of the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) developmental group, will also be in Belgrade.
Except for Nehra and Ganguli, the remaining five will compete at the annual Sette Colli event. The team will be accompanied by veteran coaches Nihar Ameen and Pradeep Kumar.
India's breaststroke swimmer SP Likith, however, has been left out of the squad.
After a long COVID-enforced hiatus, Indian swimmers returned to the pool at the Uzbekistan Open in April 2021.
Six Indian swimmers - Srihari Nataraj, Sajan Prakash, Kushagra Rawat, Advait Page, Aryan Makhija and Virdhawal Khade – have already achieved the Olympic B qualification timings. Swimmers, however, need to breach the A standard timings to get direct entry to Tokyo.
The B standard will only allow swimmers at the Olympics if the total quota is not filled at the end of the qualification period on June 27.
“Of the six who have clocked the B qualifying time so far, three are currently training in the USA,” SFI secretary general Monal Chokshi said. “Kushagra Rawat and Advait Page will be participating at the last qualification meet in the USA on 24-27 June.
“SFI is hopeful that one or more of our swimmers will achieve the A cut for Tokyo 2020," Chokshi added.
Three members of the Indian swimming team, including Srihari Nataraj, left for Serbia on Tuesday night. Sajan Prakash, who is presently training in Dubai, is expected to join the squad in Belgrade by June 12.
Indian swimming squad for Belgrade Trophy: Srihari Nataraj (50m & 100m Backstroke), Sajan Prakash (100 & 200m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle), Maana Patel (100m Backstroke), Kenisha Gupta (50m & 100m Freestyle), Tanish Mathew (100m,200m Butterfly,200 Free), Aryan Nehra (200m,400m,1500m Freestyle), Shoan Ganguli (200m,400m Individual Medley, 100,200m Butterfly)
Indian swimming squad for Setti Colli Trophy, Rome: Srihari Nataraj (50m & 100m Backstroke), Sajan Prakash (100 & 200m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle), Maana Patel (100m Backstroke), Kenisha Gupta (50m & 100m Freestyle), Tanish Mathew (200m Freestyle, 200m Butterfly)