Srihari Nataraj clocks best Indian time at FINA short course World Championship

Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj clocked the best Indian time at the FINA short course World Championship on Saturday (December 17). The 20-year-old clocked 24.40s in the men’s 50m backstroke event.

Nataraj gave his best but could only manage to finish in 26th position in the overall heats. As a result, he failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 50m backstroke event. Nataraj bettered his own record in the 100m backstroke event on the first day of the championship.

Nataraj, along with Sajan Prakash and Kushagra Rawat, registered 'national records' at the FINA Short Course World Championships on Thursday.

All three swimmers bettered their own best marks in their respective categories. Nataraj, on the other hand, clocked 52.81s in the men's 100m backstroke event while Prakash improved by clocking 1:52.10s in the men's 200m butterfly event. However, Kushagra clocked 3:49.04s in the men's 400m freestyle event.

The timings clocked in this tournament are different from the long course tournaments. A swimming contest is underway in 25-metre pools. Meanwhile, 50-metre pools are called long courses.

Srihari Nataraj's latest performance:

Srihari Nataraj registered a new national record on the final day of the 74th Senior National Aquatic Championships. He bettered Sajan Prakash’s previously held record of 1:50.35 seconds, recorded back in 2018.

Earlier, Srihari Nataraj also swept the gold medal with a new record timing of 1:49.78 seconds in the In 200m freestyle event. Srihari also went on to win gold in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:04.20 seconds 74th Senior National Aquatic Championships..

Nataraj, who competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, was the second Indian swimmer after Sajan Prakash to breach the 'A' qualifying time for the Olympics.