BENGALURU: It has been a good outing for Kushagra Rawat in the ongoing senior national aquatic championship in Bengaluru. He has featured in two events so far, and the 21-year-old has registered new national records in both. However, the swimmer did not show any emotions after his impressive swim. He had expected a far better timing. He clocked 3:53.68s (400m freestyle) and 8:08.32 (800m freestyle) to register new records, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It is just the high standards that he sets for himself compared to other long distance Indian swimmers. Though he failed to make the A cut for Tokyo, Rawat had achieved the B timing in three events in 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle, showcasing his dominance as the best Indian swimmer in these events. And when Rawat was preparing for the senior meet, he had already set sights on the national record. In both races, there was no competition for Rawat.
“Creating new records is always a great feeling. I got my speed back, but now I have to work further,” said Rawat. Meanwhile, Srihari Nataraj had another great day at the pool. He broke Virdhawal Khade’s record of 50.53 in the 100M freestyle heats with 50.17. That record only stood for a few hours as he erased it again in the final with a timing of 49.94.