Olympic-hopeful swimmers Srihari Natraj and Sajan Prakash to compete in Serbia and Rome

A 3-member Indian Swimming staff, together with Olympic-hopeful Srihari Nataraj will depart for Serbia tonight to compete within the Belgrade Trophy 2021, a FINA-accredited Olympic Qualifying occasion, scheduled for nineteenth and twentieth June 2021. They can be joined by Sajan Prakash who’s presently coaching in Dubai and is predicted to affix the staff in Belgrade by twelfth June.Apart from Olympic B qualifiers Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash who’re hoping to make the A qualification for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the staff includes of seasoned again stroker Maana Patel, who not too long ago demonstrated return to kind at a world meet in Uzbekistan, together with children Aryan Nehra, Shoan Ganguli, Tanish Mathew and Kenisha Gupta who’re a part of the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) growth group and have been displaying nice promise.The staff sans Nehra and Ganguli (who didn’t meet the qualification instances), will journey to Rome, Italy on twenty third June to participate within the annual Sette Colli Trophy which can be a FINA-accredited Olympic Qualifying occasion to be held on twenty fifth, twenty sixth and twenty seventh June. The swim staff can be accompanied by seasoned coaches Nihar Ameen and Pradeep Kumar.In April this yr, the Indian swimmers had participated within the Uzbekistan Open, which was their first worldwide swim meet because the Covid-19 lockdown in March final yr.”The Indian swimmers, particularly Srihari Nataraj, had done exceedingly well in the Uzbekistan Open and got closer to the A qualifying time in the 100m Backstroke event, while Sajan Parkash, Kenisha Gupta and Maana Patel posted impressive performances in their respective events. They have been shaping up really well and we are hopeful that they will be able to achieve the qualifying mark before the cutoff date,” expressed SFI govt director Virender Nanavati, who was not too long ago elected as Member to the FINA bureau (world at giant).SFI secretary normal Monal Chokshi emphasised that the competitors in Belgrade and Rome won’t solely be an amazing alternative for the Olympic hopefuls to qualify however this can even present a very good publicity for the swimmers getting ready for the forthcoming Asian Games in 2022. It is nice to present the youthful swimmers who’re our potential expertise for 2024, alternatives to realize worldwide racing publicity at such high-level meets.”Upon their arrival in Belgrade, the Indian swimmers will be stationed at the Serbian National Swim Team training facility. This will provide a great exposure for our swimmers ahead of the two Qualifying meets. The squad is in good form, and we are expecting them to swim faster than what they did in Uzbekistan in April,” said SFI’s Secretary General Monal Chokshi.”Both Sajan and Srihari who have broken the B qualification in their early season meets and they are confident of swimming much faster at these two competitions in Belgrade and Rome. Of the six Indian swimmers who have clocked the B qualifying time so far, three of them are currently training in the USA. Kushagra Rawat and Advait Page will be participating at the last qualification meet in USA on 24-27 June. SFI is hopeful that one or more of our swimmers will achieve the A cut for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” added Chokshi.SFI President RN Jayaprakash expressed his gratitude to Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the External Affairs and SAI for clearing this journey and making certain the Indian swimmers have yet one more shot at making the A qualification regardless of these difficult pandemic instances. “We are very thankful to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), SAI and also the External Affairs who ensured the trip is cleared and Visas came in time for the team to leave for the FINA-accredited qualifying meets,” said Jayaprakash.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)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)