Srihari Nataraj registers yet another 'Best Indian time' record at  FINA short course World Championships

Olympian Srihari Nataraj has yet again registered a record at the FINA Short Course World Championships at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Monday. He registered his third 'Best Indian time' in the ongoing tournament.

The 20-year-old Indian swimmer clocked 48.65s in the men's 100m freestyle event to better Sajan Prakash's best Indian performance record.

Unfortunately, despite the record, Nataraj failed to find a spot in the semifinals as he finished 38th in the overall heats. Only the top 16 swimmers on the list advanced to the next round.

Earlier, the Indian swimmer 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.

He also registered a record at the FINA Short Course World Championships on the opening day of the swimming tournament. Nataraj continued his record-breaking spree as he clocked 52.81s in the men's 100m backstroke event on Thursday (December 16).

Apart from Nataraj, Sajan Prakash and Kushagra Rawat have also registered 'national records' at the FINA Short Course World Championships. All three swimmers bettered their own best marks in their respective categories.

Sajan Prakash improved his timing by clocking 1:52.10s in the men's 200m butterfly event. Meanwhile, Kushagra clocked 3:49.04s in the men's 400m freestyle event to add another achievement to his career.

Kushagra also clocked 15:07.86s in the men's 1500m freestyle event to finish 21st in the overall heats on Monday.

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 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 and team Karnataka topped the medals tally with 17 gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals, to win the championship title with 36 medals in the 74th Senior National Aquatic Championships 2021 in Bengaluru during October.