Sports News Desk!! Is an Indian swimmer. He is the youngest Indian male swimmer to qualify for the FINA ‘A’ standard of international swimming in the men’s 100 m backstroke and earn a direct entry for the Summer Olympics, 2020 (Tokyo Olympics). The campaign of Indian swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Mana Patel in Tokyo Olympics ended without a medal. Both these young swimmers failed to qualify for the semi-finals of their respective events. Both the swimmers, who were making their Olympic debut, also failed to match their personal best performance in the 100m backstroke events.
Introduction
Srihari Nataraja was born on Tuesday, 16 January 2001. Srihari attended Delhi Public School, Bangalore and Jain Heritage School, Bangalore for his primary and secondary education. He enrolled himself in Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore to pursue his higher education. Srihari Nataraja was very fond of playing since childhood and started practicing swimming at the age of 2. Srihari participated in various national and international level swimming competitions before entering his teenage years.[1]
athlete family
Srihari Nataraja was born in a family of athletes. His father, Nataraja Venkatraman, was a Bangalore University cricketer. His mother Kalyani was a volleyball player who represented Tamil Nadu at the Junior Nationals. His brother, Balaji Nataraja, is also a swimming athlete. Srihari Nataraj’s uncle was a cricketer who played for Ranji and his first cousin had the opportunity to play with Rahul Dravid.
Training
Srihari Nataraja started swimming practice at the age of 2. He was trying every possible sport available to him at this young age, but he was more inclined towards cricket. But his love for the blue water literally started when he watched his elder brother practice in the pool. Srihari participated in swimming competitions for the first time at the age of 5. Srihari Nataraja was practicing under coach AC Jayarajan, who saw his abilities at this early age and suggested him to give him professional training. Later he was shifted to the academy of famous swimming coach Nihar Amin. A few years of practice and a strict diet routine helped him win medals in many state level and national level competitions.
career
Srihari Nataraja made his international debut at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in 2015, where he finished 8th in the 200 m medley, 6th in the 100 m backstroke and 6th in the 200 m backstroke. Srihari won his first national level gold medal in 100 m backstroke at the National Junior Aquatic Championships 2017 with a timing of 57.33 seconds. In the same year he participated in the National Junior Aquatic Championships held in Pune and created national records in 100 m backstroke, 50 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke and 200 m freestyle, winning gold medals in each respective match.
In 2018, Srihari Nataraj created another national record in 100m backstroke by clocking 56.71 seconds. Srihari won a total of 7 gold medals in Khelo India Youth Games 2019. She won her first international gold medal at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in the 4×100 m freestyle relay team. In the 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships, Srihari broke his own national records in 200 meter backstroke and 100 meter backstroke. On July 1, 2021, Srihari created a historic moment and became the youngest Indian swimmer to qualify a FINA “A” standard qualifying time in the Men’s 100m Backstroke Time Trial at the Settecoli Swim Meet in Rome, Italy and become the youngest Indian swimmer to qualify for the Summer Olympics, 2020 ( Earned his direct ticket for the Tokyo Olympics.
summer olympics, 2020
The campaign of Indian swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Mana Patel in the Tokyo Olympics came to a halt soon. Both these young swimmers failed to qualify for the semi-finals of their respective events. Both the swimmers, who were making their Olympic debut, also failed to match their personal best performance in the 100m backstroke events. Srihari finished sixth in the men’s 100m backstroke heat with a timing of 54.31 seconds. The swimmer’s personal best performance is 53.77 seconds which he achieved during the Sette Colli Trophy in Italy and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Srihari finished 27th among total 40 swimmers. The top 16 swimmers made it to the semi-finals.[2]
medal
Sleep
2016: 100 m Backstroke at the South Asian Aquatics Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2016: 200 m Backstroke at the South Asian Aquatics Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2016: 4x 100 m Medley Relay at the South Asian Aquatics Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2017: National Junior Aquatic Championships 50m Backstroke 2017: National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India 100m Backstroke 2017: National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India 200m Backstroke 2017: National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India 200m Freestyle 2019: 50m Freestyle 2019 at Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India : 200m Freestyle 2019 at Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India : Khelo India 50m Backstroke at the Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India 2019: 4th at Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India 100m Backstroke 2019: 4th at the Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India 200m Backstroke 2019: 4th at the Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India ×100 m Medley Relay 2019: 4×100 at the Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India Freestyle 2019: 100m Backstroke at the 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships, Bhopal, India 2019: 200m Backstroke at the 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships, Bhopal, India 2020: 50m Backstroke at the Uzbekistan Open Aquatic Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 2020: Uzbekistan Open Aquatic 100m Backstroke at the Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Silver
2016: 50m Backstroke at the South Asian Aquatic Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Awards and Honors
On 22 November 2020, Srihari Nataraja was awarded the ‘Eklavya Award’ for his excellent performance in swimming. ‘Eklavya Award’ is awarded to sports personalities of the country by the Government of Karnataka for their outstanding performance in the field of sports. The award winners are awarded a gold trophy and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.
