BENGALURU: Sajan Prakash created history by becoming the first Indian ever to achieve the Olympic Qualifying Time (A cut). It means he has now secured a direct berth to Tokyo. He achieved it in the 200m butterfly event at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Italy, with a timing of 1:56.38s (A time was 1:56.48) on Saturday, a day before the qualifying period finishes.
The Kerala swimmer has been continuously improving his performance in the 200m butterfly event. “It is a great (day). Indian swimmers can also now think of getting the ‘A’ cut as well. Sajan deserved it. The amount of hard work he has put in over the last five years and also if you consider the Covid-19 pandemic from last year, this is a great thing,” said Sajan’s coach Pradeep Kumar.
It will be doubly gratifying for the 27-year-old considering he was suffering from a serious neck injury last year. There was the option of surgery — on some days the pain was so intense he couldn’t even lift his left arm — but he eschewed it. But he stayed put, underwent physiotherapy, put his head down and trained. That he decided to remain in Thailand rather than coming back to India before last year’s lockdown also helped considering he restarted training in May itself.
Before achieving the A cut, he had B cuts (Olympic Selection Time) in both the 100m and 200m butterfly disciplines. Even the Swimming Federation of India secretary general Monal Chokshi was left speechless with his stunning performance.
“You can say I am at loss for words. It is a historic moment. And it is his sheer willpower and dedication that got him this historic feat. He has been trying to get this A cut for a while. He would have loved to get the A cut before going to the Rio Olympics as well, but he has done it now,” said the SFI official.
This A cut also means that the SFI’s universality quota nomination for backstroke specialist Srihari Nataraj will not be valid in the men’s category.
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