BENGALURU: WHEN Maana Patel won the gold medal in the women’s 50m backstroke event on Tuesday, she was elated. It was not her first gold in swimming but the 29.92 seconds she clocked in the final of the Asian Age Group Championships meant the world for her. After three years of fighting against a career-threatening shoulder injury, subsequent rehab and depression, Patel was once again happy to swim under 30 seconds.
It all started with a shoulder injury (labrum tear on left shoulder) back in 2016. The rehabilitation process kept her off the pool for 13 months. But more than the injury, it was her mental state that made the rehab process difficult. She stopped eating, lost weight and even contemplated quitting the sport. “We had just shifted to Mumbai. I was finding it hard to adjust with the new coach and the rehab. I couldn’t sleep and just wanted to stop everything. I thought I’d never come back and I was finding it hard to believe in myself to recover,” explained Patel, who has been the country’s best backstroker amongst girls, winning every backstroke sprint since the 2013 nationals.
But unlike others, Patel realised the impact of what she was going through and sought help from a psychologist. However, it didn’t solve the issue completely until a session with swimming great Michael Phelps during his visit to India. A chat with Phelps helped her believe in herself again.
She completed the rehab and returned in 2018 during the senior nationals in Kerala. The races she won there further boosted her confidence. “Last year, in senior nationals, I did really well. I broke my national record in 100 back and I felt like I still had something left in me and I could do it,” said the Ahmedabad-born girl. “Now I say to myself that I have been swimming for nine years and if I had done it before I could it again.” On Thursday, Patel added a silver to her medal tally, finishing second in the 100m backstroke event.
While she failed to better her timing, Patel is sure that she can do better in the upcoming meets. “It is a little disappointing as I was really confident to get my personal best. But I was tired in the last 10m. Now, the target is to be patient, look forward to the next meet and keep believing in myself. We are targeting a few events in December like the Doha World Cup and a competition in Australia to get the international racing experience,” said Patel.
Nataraj fails to get ‘A’ cut
Tokyo Olympics ‘A’ cut continues to elude Indian contingent. On Thursday, Srihari Nataraj won the 100m backstroke, clocking 55.06s (meet record). But he failed to better his personal best (54.69) that he set at the Junior World Championships last month. It was more than a second slower than the ‘A’ cut (53.85). In all, India added four gold and as many silver and bronze medals on Day 3 to take their medal tally to 40.