Among the glitter of gold and medals from the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG), it's easy to overlook the historic performance of ace swimmer Srihari Nataraj at the quadrennial event in Birmingham.
Srihari didn't bag the medal he hoped to lay his hands on before the CWG but returned back home with his reputation enhanced and credentials as the best Indian swimmer going around well established.
The 21-year-old Bengaluru athlete, who last year became the second Indian swimmer to qualify directly for the Olympics, finished fifth in the men’s 50m backstroke event — the best performance by an able-bodied Indian swimmer at the Games. He was seventh in 100m backstroke and in 200m backstroke heats; rewrote his national record with a timing of 2:00.84s, finishing ninth fastest and narrowly missing out on the final.
For a country that has never won a CWG medal in able-bodied swimming, Srihari's performance helped India register a marked improvement. The nation's only CWG swimming medal had come in 2010 with para swimmer Prasanta Karmakar winning bronze in the 50m freestyle.
Srihari Nataraj at CWG 2022
50m Back - 5th place
100m Back - 7th place
200m Back - 9th place & NRUndoubtedly, one of the greatest, if not the greatest set of performances by an Indian swimmer ever!
— Prithvi (@Eighty7_Fifty8) August 2, 2022
In his pet event, the 100m backstroke, Srihari though could have had a real shot at the gold with his personal best timing of 53.77s which made him qualify for the Tokyo Games last year. He finished the final with a timing of 54.31s and missed out on a medal, but the Birmingham Games outing has only made him hungrier.
"I gave it my all, it just wasn't my day," Srihari tells Firstpost. "This happens. It's part of the sport and I have learnt that there are times you don't perform the way you expect to no matter how well you plan or how well you perfect it. It's all about learning from it and going to the next one. The fact that my personal best would have won a gold in 100m backstroke shows there's no reason we shouldn't be medalling.
"I skipped the World Championships so that my body didn't have to go through multiple phases of tapering and rebuilding. We did everything according to plan. Sometimes, it's just not your day. You don't score a century every day in cricket. On days, you nick it to the slips and get out on a duck or 99. It's pretty much the same thing that happened to me."
Asked if there's something different he could have done to end the medal drought, Srihari said he looks to use the learning from the CWG in future races.
"I did prepare well and plan well. It's not like I made a lot of mistakes. When it comes to the swimming aspect, there are always things that you can change or you think you could have done differently. But yeah, sports is all about doing it with the least number of mistakes, so that's one thing," he says.
"I also do not always look at the negative, it's important to understand what your strengths are and throughout the meet, I had good starts and turns. I was very consistent at the meet and I felt better as the competition progressed. So these are the things that I can take away as positives and use to my advantage in the next championships."
With CWG done, the Indian swimmer, who has rewritten the national records in different events multiple times, has his sights set on the 2023 Asian Games, where he aims to win multiple medals. The postponement of the Asian Games from 2022 to next year has also given the swimmer more time to prepare well for the continental event.
"I am done with the international major tournaments for this year. Now the focus is on senior nationals in September and then the national games at the end of September. So, that's pretty much all for 2022. Next year, it's about focussing on World Championships and Asian Games with the Asian Games being the main tournament. As I said, there's enough possibility for me to come back with multiple medals from Asian Games," Srihari says.
However, before the Worlds and Asian Games, Srihari is looking forward to a well-deserved break after the national games. The swimmer has been in training and competition mode for the last two years with the Olympics and CWG taking place.
"This is going to be the first break that is not forced on me. The first break was the lockdown but we didn't get to do much. I enjoy playing other sports, so I will do some of that. I am a big fan of movies. I might catch up with some friends. I haven't really planned it out. I just need a few weeks to relax and not do a lot of swimming. This is the first time in my career I am going to take a break like this," an excited Srihari says.
One thing is for sure, the break would definitely include eating a lot of ice cream. It's been a ritual for him to eat ice cream after the swimming competitions. During the break, he may not swim, but ice cream will still be a constant.
"I am going to enjoy my fair share of dessert and not be disciplined as usual. I have been planning to do that. I love ice cream and I will probably be having it every day," he signs off.
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