BENGALURU: After completing the fourth and final lap in the 200m butterfly event at the Setti Coli Trophy in Rome Saturday, Sajan Prakash turned his head towards the timing board. It read 1:56.38s, meaning an A cut and a direct Tokyo Olympics entry. He explained his immediate reaction then, “I was in tears. I cannot explain more than that.”
His emotions were understandable considering the difficult times he underwent especially last year. It was around December 2019 the Kerala man suffered a slipped disk injury in his neck. The situation was so dire that the swimmer withdrew from the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal. He had to undergo rehabilitation for a few months, and just when things were looking positive, he was dealt another serious blow in May — Chikungunya.
Not to forget the Covid-enforced lockdown restrictions in Thailand, where he was training under the FINA scholarship programme. “And then I got an opportunity to come to Dubai in all this, and then things slowly started getting better,” said Sajan, who featured in the Rio Olympics through the Universality quota. Had the quadrennial event gone ahead as originally scheduled in 2020, Sajan might not have been in the best of shape to deliver his best. After he resumed training under coach Pradeep Kumar at the Aqua Nation Swimming Academy in Dubai, things got better.
Pradeep, who has been training Sajan for a long time, played a vital role in helping him achieve the A-mark with some strict training procedures. “It is all about what we did in training. We cannot just call it luck. We worked hard. I could see myself progressing in the 200m butterfly. I used to suit up and race in training. I created a racing simulation, generate good speed in training, like how I used to go in the race. It is like visualising, but you go and swim the real race in training. I saw improvements. The last time I swam fast in training was 1:58 without shaving and a taper, so I knew I could go faster,” said Sajan.
Srihari made to wait
Srihari Nataraj recorded the Olympic Qualifying Time in the 100m backstroke during the time trials at the Setti Coli Trophy in Rome. The swimmer asked for the time trial and the timing read 53.77s when the A cut stood at 53.85. The result will be sent to FINA and the final call will be taken by the body early July.