Nataraj had shattered the Tokyo Olympics qualification time in men’s 100m backstroke during time trial at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome last month, clocking 53.77 seconds, which was faster than the Olympic qualification time of 53.85 seconds.
Srihari Nataraj
Ace India swimmer Srihari Nataraj said on Sunday that he was focusing on his preparations rather than worrying about how tough the competition would be at the Tokyo Olympics beginning July 23.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nataraj had shattered the Tokyo Olympics qualification time in men’s 100m backstroke during time trial at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome last month, clocking 53.77 seconds, which was faster than the Olympic qualification time of 53.85 seconds.
“The competition at the Tokyo Olympics will be tough, I am not thinking about it. But, I am preparing,” the ace swimmer told IANS.
Surprisingly, Nataraj, a backstroke specialist, says he does not enjoy the event much. “However, my best performance is in backstroke. So, I have started focusing on it since the age of 11 years,” he said.
Nataraj, 20, always wanted to take part in international swimming competitions from a very young age. “The ambition to become a champion was always there. When I was 12, I was dreaming of participating in international competitions. “I have been working with coach Nihar Amin since I was 12. He has the experience of working with so many Olympians,” Nataraj said.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever