CWG 2022: Srihari Nataraj misses berth in 200m backstroke final by a whisker

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Srihari Nataraj at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. (PC: Twitter)

Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj rewrote his personal best record but still failed to qualify for the men's 200m backstroke finals at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) in Birmingham on Tuesday (August 2).

Nataraj finished third in Heat 2 with a time of 2:00.84s, erasing his previous best of 2:01.70s, which he had set at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in 2019.

The best eight swimmers, across three heats, qualify for the final. The Indian finished ninth overall, missing out on a direct final berth by just 0.19 seconds.

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Although the third-pace finish did not help Srihari to automatically qualify, the Indian swimmer is now the first reserve for the final. This means if a swimmer pulls out before the final, Srihari will get a chance.

In swimming, a timing is considered a national record only when it has been achieved at the National Aquatics Championships. Hence, the timings clocked in other meets are called the best Indian time.

Luke Greenbank of England won Heat 3 with a timing of 1:56.33s while South Africa's Pieter Coetze finished second, clocking 1:58.08s.

Srihari Nataraj is having a good CWG 2022 campaign

Srihari Nataraj has had a stupendous CWG 2022 campaign after making the finals in two events. He finished fifth in the men's 50m backstroke finals, clocking 25.23s. It is the best-ever position achieved by an Indian swimmer in the category in a CWG final.

He finished seventh in the 100m backstroke final earlier. Swimming in Lane 1, the Bengaluru-based swimmer clocked 54.31s to finish seventh.

At the Tokyo Olympics last year, Srihari was the first Indian to swim in the classification A heat. He clocked 54:31s to finish 27th in the men's 100m backstroke event.

Srihari has received assistance from the Sports Authority of India and has also done well, competing in a plethora of events in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games. He's also part of the Sports Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

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