Khelo India: Top gun Srihari Nataraj trains his sights on Asian Games, CWG

It’s no surprise that Srihari Nataraj, India’s top swimmer and Olympian, stood tall over others in the pool to emerge as the most successful athlete in the Khelo India University Games which concluded in Jaipur on Friday. His haul of 11 medals – nine gold and two silver – helped Jain University finish in fourth place in the overall medals tally as Chandigarh University and Lovely University finished in the first two positions, respectively.

 Now 24 and one of the most decorated Indian swimmers, Srihari was candid enough to admit that he was nowhere near his best timings despite winning nine gold medals but wanted to help his university swell the tally. Currently is in his off-season after winning seven medals in the Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad last month, he led a major splash in the pool for his university.

 Speaking to SAI media, the Olympian in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 said he was now looking forward to the Asian Games in Japan and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year and is confident of landing medals. “At the Asian Games, I will be 25 and it is the age when swimmers generally peak. Now, I know a lot about my swimming, my body and I am confident that I can win a medal there,” he said.

Srihari is also hoping that his seven-medal haul in the Asian meet will get him inducted into the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG), on the lines of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which will help him prepare for the continental multi-discipline event in a systematic manner. “After the first Khelo India Games in 2018, I was selected for TOPS and the support I received made a major change to my career,” said Srihari.

 However, swimming had been an unconquered frontier for Indian athletes at the top level and after Nataraj returned empty-handed from Paris - bowing out in the heats of the 100m backstroke event - he was dropped from the TOPS Core Group. TAGG was created last year for a more focused support towards Asian Games medal prospects and Sri sees a window of opportunity there to fuel his dreams.

 Speaking about the role of KIUG in his career path, Srihari said competing in KIUG was important for senior swimmers as it provides them with quality competition. “Swimmers in India at the senior level don’t get to compete in many events in India. There is one senior nationals and there is one university nationals. So this is one more tournament to test themselves,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the last edition of KIUG saw a surfeit of international performers in the fray in Animesh Kujur, India’s fastest man, shooter Sift Kaur Samra, Gopichand Swamy among others. Chandigarh rode on a strong performance in canoe and kayaking to defend their overall championship crown as they finished their campaign with a total of 67 medals, including 42 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze. Lovely Professional University (LPU) ended their KIUG campaign as the runner-up with 32 golds, 25 silver and 22 bronze medals.

Guru Nanak Dev University also finished with 32 gold medals but their tally of 22 silver and 18 bronze meant that they had to settle for the third spot.