Indian Swimming sport News

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2021-11-16 15:30

Participating at the National Aquatics Championship was an exhilarating experience - Indian swimmer Apeksha Fernandes

Apeksha Fernandes is undoubtedly one of India’s brightest talents in swimming, the 16 year old recently took part in the Junior and Senior National Aquatic Championship, breaking many national records and winning a number of medals, including the Best Swimmer Individual Championship Trophy in the women's category.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Apeksha Fernandes speaks about her experience at the tournament, being awarded the best swimmer, her most special accomplishment, missing out on the national record in 100m butterfly, improving on her techniques and future goals.

Q 1) How was the experience of participating and winning medals at the Junior and Senior National Aquatics Championship?

It was exhilarating, especially because it was the first time I raced after the lockdown and having the adrenaline keeping you at an all time high was something I really missed. Since Mumbai was under lockdown for the better part of the year, I only got around three weeks to train for the meet, and coming back home with eleven medals and bagging the championship trophies of both the meets was nothing short of euphoric. Although I was exhausted after having raced both Junior and Senior Nationals within the span of two weeks, I would give anything to race the meet all over again

Q 2) You won the best swimmer individual championship trophy in the women’s category, how proud are you of that achievement?

In 2019, I missed a national record by one-hundredth of a second because of which I couldn’t win the championship. Racing with the established seniors was memorable; so, this year’s win was very satisfactory.

Q 3) You medaled in a number of races, which accomplishment was the most special for you and why?

Although I won a silver in both, the 100 fly and 50 breaststroke would be a tie for this one. At the Junior Nationals, my competitor and I fought to the very end for the gold in the 100 fly, and in the process pushed each other to get below the best Indian time for women and better our times. The 50 breaststroke at the Senior Nationals was probably the most exciting race I’ve swum this season because I usually don’t take the sprint races and racing against my senior who holds the best Indian time for the same event and narrowly coming second was a great experience. These were the most memorable races of the two meets

Also read: Fitness is the key to increasing confidence level in every sports person: Sifu Naeem Ansari, Founder and President - SMBP Commandos

Q 4) You narrowly missed out on the national record for the 100 meters butterfly, is there something that made you feel you could have done better?

After reviewing the races a couple of times, I think I’d really have to work on the technical aspect of my strokes, turns and finishes.

Q 5) What are aspects of swimming that you still feel you can improve on and how are you working towards it?

I have to make a few changes in my butterfly and breaststroke where my technique is concerned. Apart from that, I also have to work on quicker turns and finishes and longer leaps for my dive.

Q 6) Which championships are you aiming to participate at in the foreseeable future? Do you expect similar amounts of success in them?

I wish to make the team for the Asian Games taking place in 2022, for which I will give my all and hope for the best.

2021-10-26 23:32

Swimming: Kushagra Rawat and Srihari Nataraj shine with new national records

Bengaluru, Oct 26 (Swimming news) Three national records were rewritten, including one by ace Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj, who bettered his own mark, on the opening day of the 74th Senior National Aquatic Championships here on Tuesday.

Nataraj improved his own national record of 55.63s in the 100m backstroke by clocking 55.10s.

Nataraj's personal best in the event is 53.77s which he clocked in Italy earlier this year to directly qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

However, that is counted as the "Best Indian Performance" and not national record. A timing is only considered a national record when it has been achieved at the National Aquatic Championships.

Dominating the race right from the start, Nataraj got off to a strong start and was ahead of the pack in the first 50m and took further lead in the second 50m after a good turn.

Siva S of Karnataka finished second with a time of 57.60S, while Zavier Michael D'Souza of Goa won bronze clocking 58.96s.

"It’s good to be racing again after the Olympics. Though not my personal best, I am quite happy to have gone under the national record.

"I have tapered only for seven days for this meet. My focus will be on the FINA World Short Course meet this December in Abu Dhabi,” Nataraj said.

In another brilliant swim, Delhi's Kushagra Rawat came up with a sensational effort in the 400m freestyle for men as he eclipsed Sajan Prakash's record of 3:54.93 seconds set in 2018 in Trivandrum.

Rawat clocked 3:53.68s to create a new national record. He was more than three body-lengths ahead of second place finisher Aneesh Gowda of Karnataka, who timed 3:59.66s.

Shoan Ganguly of Karnataka took home the bronze with a timing of 4:00.14s.

Meanwhile, in the 100m backstroke for women, 14-year-old Ridhima Veerendrakumar shocked Olympian Maana Patel of Gujarat as the youngster from Karnataka beat her for the gold medal.

Though Ridhima missed the national record of 1:04.33s held by Maana since 2018, she finished the race with a timing of 1:04.40s to take a gold.

Maana clocked 1:05.31s and Nina Venkatesh of Karnataka finished third with a time of 1:06.39s.

In the 50m butterfly for men, two-time Olympian Prakash lived up to the billing as he clinched the gold with a time of 24.90s It was a close race with Mihir Ambre of Maharashtra and Adhitya D of TNSA giving a tough fight but Prakash, representing Kerala Police, did well to finish the race ahead of the two who ended up settling for silver as both clocked 25.08s.

In the 4x200m freestyle for men, team Karnataka broke Railways Sports Promotion Board's record set in 2016.

The team comprising of Sambhavv R, Aneesh S Gowda, Tanish George Mathew and Srihari clocked 7:37.65 to erase the previous record of 7:45.24s.

Also Read : Para-swimmer Mukundan granted bi-partite quota for Tokyo Paralympics

News Source :PTI

2021-07-09 10:30

India’s 50m butterfly record holder Divya Satija is setting her sights on the Asian Games

Often viewed as a recreational or a luxurious pass time, swimming is a seriously underrated sport in India. While the country is brimming with talented swimmers, their stories of glory and accomplishments are rarely featured in the sports news or are usually overshadowed by the latest cricketing gossip. However, Indian swimmers continue to impress on the global stage and let their achievements do the talking with relentless hard work, dedication and persistence.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Indian swimmer Divya Satija speaks about her journey so far, becoming the national record holder of women’s 50m butterfly, her influences, overcoming challenges, future goals and more!

Q 1) When were you first introduced to swimming and what motivated you to take up the sport professionally?

I started swimming when I was 10 or 11 years old. My dad used to swim recreationally when we were on vacations and I would observe and wonder what swimming was like, the feeling of the water and so on. There was a swimming pool in my school and that introduced me to the sport and because I was already familiar with what swimming was about, getting into the water was easy. I was a little better than others because I had an idea of what swimming is because of my observations and I was invited to join the elite batch by my coach. The kids in that batch were already swimming quite well and in a year, I became the fastest swimmer in the district. After that I competed in the state and national level competitions and that’s how I started.

Q 2) As the national record holder of the women’s 50m butterfly and winner of a number of accolades internationally, what is your proudest achievement so far?

My only aim was to represent India and for many years I was working very hard to make that happen. My first International was at the Asian Age Group Championship in 2019 where I won my first individual bronze medal. However, the thought kept playing in my head that I had not won a gold medal at the International level, and when you do, the national anthem is played and the flag is hoisted and I wanted to experience that. In the South Asian Games in December 2019, I won four gold medals and that was my best achievement because I also heard the national anthem after my victory.

Q 3) Who are some of the most influential people in your journey as a swimmer so far and why?

I’m a person who gets easily inspired by people who cross my path. When I started swimming in 2006-2007, there was a girl named Richa Mishra who was a star swimmer and I always admired her because she used to win gold in every event. After that, when I started training with international medallists, I learnt small things from different players. Everybody would give me small tips and I would add it to my swimming ability, swimmers in India such as Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade have always motivated me and internationally, Sarah Sjöström has inspired me and I want to be like her. She is the world record holder of the women's 100m butterfly.

Q 4) How has the experience of training under Dronacharya winner Nihar Ameen been at the Dravid-Padukone centre of excellence in Bangalore?

Since I've been swimming at my school, there have been different experiences with different coaches. Being at PDCSE at the top in athletics, the training and the culture over there is totally different. There are players who have already represented India who are working hard to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. The environment pushes you to work hard, you can't back out, that's what the environment is like. They take care of everything, we have physios available and we have the big sized pool which is the only FINA approved pool in India. They have a bunch of other facilities available there as well for strength and conditioning. All the different coaches are working with you according to your performance.

Q 5) What are some of the challenges that you faced in your journey as a professional swimmer? How did you overcome them?

If I compare my past and my future, what all changes I've made to achieve all that I currently have, the biggest challenge I’ve faced is anxiety. To deal with that, I have worked with psychologists that Simply Sports provided me with. We also face challenges with nutrition. “You are what you eat”. So all these things need to be taken care of. The challenges always keep on coming, you have to handle the smaller things and learn from them. I can't even call them challenges because I have overcome them and it's all a part of life and they have helped me.

Q 6) What are your goals and aspirations for the future? How do you plan to achieve them?

Currently my goal is to win a medal at the Asian Games. To achieve that I have been working on every small detail that I can do to improve myself. If I aim at 50 meter butterfly, I have to get a perfect start. I need strength in my legs so I can push myself to a better start for the best outcome. I need to work on my underwater kick so I have to take small steps to get there. In the dolphin, we have underwater recordings to notice the smallest errors and change them and implement it in practice. We have coaches who came from outside the country at the national camp who made recordings, did the power test and analysis with the coach. We sit together, study the videos, work on the minute things and work towards changing those. I work on my strength and power because that's what I need in 50 meters.

If you wish to support Divya in any of the areas to see her excel, then please reach out to Simply Sport https://www.simplysport.in/donate.

You can write mail to them at marketing@simplysport.in.

2021-07-03 18:50

Swimming Federation of India nominates Sajan Prakash for Arjuna, Kamlesh Nanavati for Dhyan Chand

New Delhi, Jul 3 (Sports news) Sajan Prakash, first-ever Indian swimmer to achieve a direct qualification for the Olympics, has been recommended for the coveted Arjuna award by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).

The SFI has also nominated veteran coach Kamlesh Nanavati for the Dhyan Chand Award, for his lifetime contributions to aquatic sports.

While Tapan Panigrahi has been nominated for the Dhronacharya Award (lifetime category) for his contribution towards producing many national and international champions in para swimming as well as able bodied category.

This is the second consecutive year Prakash, who is set to compete in his second Olympics in Tokyo, has been recommended for the Arjuna.

The 27-year-old from Kerala scripted history last week by breaching the 'A' standard time for the Tokyo Games, clocking 1:56:38 seconds in the men's 200m butterfly event at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Italy.

Also read: How swimmer Srihari swam his way to the ‘A’ mark despite disrupted access to pools

"By making the A qualification for TOKYO 2020 in the 200 meter butterfly event, Sajan Prakash has broken the glass ceiling and goes down in the history of Indian swimming as the 1st Indian to have achieved this feat.

"His achievement will inspire many more swimmers in time to come. We believe this achievement will place Sajan Prakash's nomination for the Arjuna Award at the forefront amongst equals," SFI Secretary General, Monal Chokshi said in media release.

Nanvati represented India in water polo at many international competitions and subsequently as a swimming coach.

In a career spanning four decades, he has produced numerous national medallists and record holders. He has also made a mark for himself in officiating as "Director of Competitions" at national and international meets and has remained on the technical committee of FINA for Waterpolo.

"Kamlesh Nanavati has reason to be satisfied today, as Maana Patel who he has coached for the better part of her career becomes the 1st Swimmer from Gujarat to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics.

"Blessed is the coach who has the privilege to witness his or her protegee go on to represent the country at the biggest sports platform in the world," SFI President, R N Jayaprakash said.

News source: PTI

2021-07-01 10:30

How swimmer Srihari swam his way to the ‘A’ mark despite disrupted access to pools

New Delhi, Jun 30 (Sports news) His training was disrupted again and again by the COVID-19 enforced lockdown but the ace Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj remained as cool as a cucumber, confident that he would breach the elusive ‘A’ standard to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Nataraj wasn’t able to enter a swimming pool form mid-March till September, when a two-month national camp was arranged in Dubai last year.

On returning home, the restrictions were eased out and he resumed training in Bengaluru but whenever there was a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state, the swimming pools became the first casualties.

However, the 20-year-old took it in stride and on Wednesday he “officially” booked his berth for the Tokyo Games, after FINA, the world body for aquatics, approved his 'A' standard qualification time in the men's 100m backstroke time trial at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome.

Also read: Indian Swimmer, Srihari Natraj qualifies for Tokyo Olympics after FINA approves Qualification time

“The lockdown did affect a lot, starting earlier could have made a big difference. But there was a reason why it was on and I had no control over that and there’s no point in looking back,” Nataraj told PTI.

“I just kept waiting, trying to keep looking to the future and be patient.” Asked if there were times during the lockdown when he doubted himself, felt he couldn’t make the ‘A’ standard Nataraj’s reply was quick: "Not once".

But Nataraj, only the second Indian swimmer and youngest to earn a direct Olympic qualification, had to work hard for it.

“For me to drop time in the past six months, I know what it has taken. I have never worked out this much.” In his time away from the pool, Nataraj, self-admittedly, enjoyed his time away from the pool.

“I was enjoying my freedom too much because I never got a day off before. I didn’t completely slack but I put on some weight and lost some muscle. But once I got back into the pool it was a lot different as I started burning calories a lot more with double sessions and things like that.” Ahead of the Uzbekistan Open Championship, Nataraj’s first Olympic qualifying event, pools were once again shut in Karnataka but that didn’t stop the youngster from smashing the national record twice in a day but the ‘A’ mark still eluded him.

The pools continued to remain shut ahead of two other qualifying events -- Mare Nostrum meet in Monaco, which Srihari had to give a miss, and the Sette Colli Trophy. But he chose not to harp on it.

“It made no sense to go to a high-level meet (Mare Nostrum) when I haven’t been training for two weeks because pools were shut. I just didn’t think about it. Even before Rome we didn’t have permission to train, so we left earlier.” New obstacles continued arising in his path. After allegations of tampered timings, FINA invalidated the results from the Uzbekistan Open Swimming Championship, this included Nataraj’s best time.

The development meant that Nataraj would have to enter an older best time for the Rome meet, one set before the lockdown, which resulted in him being grouped with swimmers in a slower heat and he missed Olympic Qualification Time by a mere 0.05s.

"If I was in a faster heat, not using that as an excuse but that's something that could have made a difference.

"It makes a big difference if you are in a slower heat. Because when you are swimming alone you feel the pain but when you are neck to neck with another swimmer you are thinking about not losing and don’t notice the pain your body is feeling.” Things finally worked in the youngster’s favour as he was granted a time trial on Sunday, the last day of the qualification period, and Nataraj grabbed the opportunity with both hands, swimming his was to the ‘A’ cut with an effort of 53.77s.

However, there was one final obstacle in his way, the ratification of the time.

“I was a little anxious (about the confirmation) but I was distracted most of the time with the sight-seeing and the travel,” he said after his timing was confirmed. News Source: PTI

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How swimmer Srihari swam his way to the ‘A’ mark despite disrupted access to pools

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