BENGALURU: With the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the FINA World Championships scheduled for 2022, it could be an important year for Indian swimmers. The senior national aquatic championships, which starts from Tuesday, will give the big names, including Tokyo Olympians Srihari Nataraj, Sajan Prakash and Maana Patel, an opportunity to find out where they stand.
Besides, some juniors including Swadesh Mondal and Ridhima Veerendra Kumar, among others, will be eager to create an impression at the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre. Having excelled at the same venue during the junior meet not so long ago, they will be brimming with confidence. Swimming coach Pradeep Kumar is expecting good competition from the juniors. The Swimming Federation of India officials will also keep a close eye on the top performers. The nationals serves as a qualification event for the short and long course Worlds, scheduled in December 2021 and May next year respectively.
However, it will be interesting to see how Sajan fares as he is returning to action after an injury. Srihari, who shone during the state meet, and Maana are expected to deliver. Srihari, a 20-year-old from Bengaluru, is hopeful of a positive show in all ten events he will feature — five relays and five individual.
“It is an important meet. We will get a good idea from here as to where we are at and what we need to work on moving into next season (year), which is important,” said Srihari. “There are a few events, where I will be putting in more than the others. I have been enjoying training for the 100 and 200 free, so those are the events that I will be kind of pushing it. In the backstroke, I am not going in with a major goal, I just want to check where I am.”
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