BENGALURU: Bengaluru swimmer Srihari Nataraj will represent India at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. In June this year, the 20-year-old swimmer recorded the Olympic Qualifying Time (A cut) in the 100m backstroke time trial at the Setti Colli Championship held in Rome. He’s the second Indian swimmer ever to seal a direct Olympic berth. “It has always been a dream (Olympics). I knew it was possible for me,” says Nataraj.
In a tete-a-tete with City Express, he recalls that as a toddler, he would accompany his mother to the swimming pool where his brother was already taking swimming lessons. Though he cannot vividly recall his visits to the swimming pool as a two-year-old boy, however, those visits played an important part that helped him fall in love with the sport. Within no time, he hit the pool taking beginners’ classes.
Interestingly, Nataraj made his first appearance in a competition as a four-year-old in the city. “I was four when I first participated in a swimming competition at the BAC (Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre) short pool and I won two events,” says Nataraj, who went onto win several medals thereon at various levels.
During his initial days, Nataraj was trained by several coaches, including Bimesh A. Recalling old memories, Bimesh said that as a young boy, Nataraj loved the water so much that at times, as in the case with many kids, he would not want to get off the water at all. Bimesh trained Nataraj when the latter was only three years old at the Bengaluru’s KC Reddy Swimming Centre. And, that was the beginning of his journey, Bimesh informed.
“One thing was that he loved swimming from an early age. When he started, he was more than an average
student, and when he participated in various competitions, he would do well and win too,” recalls Bimesh.
Initially, as a young kid, Nataraj took up the sport as fun, but as years went by, his impressive performances helped him win accolades. Then, at the age of 11, he decided to take up swimming as a sport. However, it was not easy. His mother would accompany him to competitions.
The swimmer, who is already regarded as one of the best in the country, still travels with his mother for the national meets. “Equipment, facilities, and the financial aspects -- it got harder once I got to the junior national level and also competed at the higher level meets. But, I was never denied anything by my parents
when it came to swimming. The good thing was that in 2018, I was inducted into the Target Olympic Podium (TOPS) scheme which assists selected Indian athletes. After that, things started to look better,” says Nataraj, who is currently in Tokyo.