Sajan Prakash (English: Sajan Prakash, born – 14 September 1993) is an Indian swimmer. He is the first Indian swimmer to achieve direct qualification for the Olympics. Sajan Prakash was nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).
Swimmer Sajan Prakash finished second in his heat in the men’s 100m butterfly event at the Summer Olympics, 2020, but it was not enough to make it to the semi-finals. With this, India’s challenge in the swimming competition of the Tokyo Olympics also ended. Sajan Prakash, who represented the country at the Rio Olympics, 2016, clocked 53.45 seconds, while the cut for the semi-finals went to 51.74 seconds.[1]
Kerala swimmer Sajan Prakash finished 46th among 55 players. The top 16 swimmers reach the semi-finals. All three Indian swimmers Sajan Prakash, Srihari Nataraj and Maana Patel performed disappointingly and could not even match their best times in their main events.
Sajan Prakash qualified for the Tokyo Games last month by becoming the first Indian swimmer to achieve Olympic ‘A Qualification’. He finished 24th in his favourite 200m butterfly.
Participating in his first Olympic Games, Srihari Nataraj finished 27th among 40 swimmers in the 100m backstroke. Sajan Prakash and Nataraj had raised hopes by consistently posting their best times ahead of the Tokyo Games. Mana Patel had made it to the Games through the university quota. She finished 39th in the women’s 100m backstroke.
