A pool isn’t just a pool; water isn’t just water, if you are a backstroker swimming in Serbia. Twenty-year-old Srihari Nataraj became the second Indian to secure a Tokyo Olympics direct qualification last weekend, with an ‘A’ cut of 53.77 seconds in a time trial at Rome. Srihari Nataraj Srihari NatarajSwimming pools aren’t just water kept sparkling steady in an arena. Lobbed into a slow heat though, Srihari would ratchet up his performance to 53.90 – within 0.05 seconds of the elusive ‘A’. “I saw it as just another race, did my carb loading, chugged water and stuck to the plan,” Srihari says.

Source: Indian Express June 30, 2021 20:25 UTC