‘Hope to do well in Youth Olympics’

Setting records have become a habit for Srihari Nataraj

Self-assessment: Srihari Natraj wants to improve his technique at the turn, his strokes and his physique so as to perform better.

In a sport starved of big stars, Srihari Nataraj provides Indian swimming its biggest hope. Every time he swaggers to the starting block there is an air of expectancy, almost inevitability, of a record.

And setting records have become a habit for this Karnataka lad. The Jakarta Asian Games was a huge opportunity to showcase his talent and he didn’t disappoint, setting two best Indian performances in the 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke events.

The youngster continued his good show in the Glenmark 72nd National swimming championship here, blitzing the pool in his favourite events and improving on his Asian Games performances.

Biggest meet

Srihari qualified for the FINA World Short course meet in China in December and is keen to do well in the world meet. “It will be a good experience as it is the biggest meet of my career. Obviously I will be looking to improve my timing and reach at least the semifinals.

“But right now my goal is to do well in the Youth Olympics which starts next month. I had done well in Asian Youth meet and won medals. It would be great if I can repeat that performance in the Youth Olympics,” he said.

The 200m backstroke in under two minutes and 50m backstroke under 26 seconds are his realistic goals this year. “Normally I don’t set myself any goals as everything depends on form. But I think I can go under two minutes in 200m and under 26 seconds in 50m backstroke this year,” he said.

The gangling youngster took part in 15 races in four days here at the Nationals and is obviously pleased with his performance. “I wasn’t keen to participate here, but I was asked to compete by the federation and I am happy that I was able to do my personal best in my favourite events.

A bonus

“The records were a bonus. I competed against better swimmers in some events and it was a good experience,” he said.

Srihari, who is coached by Jayarajan at the Bangalore Swimming Research Centre (BSRC), feels he need to improve his technique at the turn, his strokes and his physique too.

“I need to improve my turn as I feel I am losing precious seconds there. I also need to hold my wrists a lot straighter in the backstroke and also the movement of my feet. I am working on it,” he said.

Coach Jayarajan said Srihari needed to improve his core strength. “He is a young boy and obviously we should be careful with him.

“He needs to build muscles and improve the strength on his lower body, especially the abdomen,” he said.