BENGALURU: After over five months of inaction, Indian swimmers can finally think of taking a dip in the pool. Virdhawal Khade, Srihari Nataraj and Kushagra Rawat, who have made the Olympic B cut, will fly to Dubai for a 60-day camp. The trip has been cleared by Sports Authority of India (SAI). They will train at Aqua Nation Swimming Academy.
The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) proposed the idea of training in Dubai last month after the city was opened for visitors. “Dubai was the only option, as travel from India is limited to a few countries. Thailand could have been another option, but it is not open for foreign nationals,” SFI secretary general Monal Chokshi told this daily.
He also confirmed that swimming coach Pradeep Kumar is already there at the academy in Dubai. Srihari’s coach, AC Jairaj, is set to accompany the swimmers for the camp, which is expected to start early September. The swimmers, after the visa and tickets process formalities are done, will fly out to Dubai. They will also have to obtain a negative Covid-19 certificate — valid upto 96 hours from time of PCR test — before arriving in Dubai.
“It will take a few days for the visa process and tickets to be done. We are hoping to have them travel out by the 25th of the month. The camp could start, maybe by early September,” added Chokshi. Besides the trio, Sajan Prakash (200m butterfly), Aryan Makhija and Advait Page (both in 800m freestyle), have also made the B cut. While Sajan is training in Thailand the other two are training in the United States. All the six swimmers have a common goal — achieving the tough A qualification mark — but the likes of Srihari are in a disadvantageous position.
“I will start slow. I am not someone who is known for taking so much of a load immediately after a break or any competitions. I will start by getting back my feel (on water), my technique and so on. I will only come to know about how much work I need to do once I start getting into the water. Coming back to my peak, I am quite sure about getting to 70-80 percent after a month of training or so,” Srihari, the backstroke specialist, said
In the last unlock phase 3.0, swimming pools were still under the closed section and it would be interesting to see if Ministry of Home Affairs’ stance will change. And Chokshi feels the two-month camp could be extended if pools in India remain shut.