Srihari Nataraj won 2 silvers and a bronze, ending India’s 16-year wait
He missed gold in 50m backstroke, citing fatigue
Srihar will now be shifting focus to 200m freestyle for 2026 season
The 11th Asian Aquatic Championships in Ahmedabad got off to a memorable start for Team India thanks to the stellar showing of double Olympian Srihari Nataraj. The opening day saw him clinch back‑to‑back silver medals in the men’s 200 m freestyle and 50 m backstroke, and then later help India grab a bronze in the 4x100 m medley relay. It felt like the turning point a swimming contingent has been waiting for.
These medals carry extra weight, they ended a 16‑year-long wait. The last time Indian swimmers earned hardware at this continental stage was in China, 2009, when Vidhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal and Aaron D’Souza won medals for India.
India’s Youthful Depth Shows on Day 1
“It was a big start to our campaign. It was a much better day 1 than what some of us thought. We came close to winning more medals with Dhinidhi (finished fifth in 200m freestyle) and Rohit (finished 4th in 100m butterfly) missing out closely in their events. We were all confident Rohit would win a medal too. It’s a young team with good depth. Quite a few made it to the finals and that’s a good start by itself. It will keep everyone motivated for the next three days,” expressed the 24‑year-old Srihari, who is pursuing his MBA in Jain deemed‑to‑be University in Bengaluru.
When talking about his own races, Srihari didn’t hide from the bumps. “The heats wasn’t the best for me. I didn’t feel so great, was placed in lane 1 for 200m freestyle, it wasn’t what I would have preferred. Swimming in lane 1, was a blessing in disguise. The second 50m, I was swimming blind and even in the last 50, I couldn’t see my opponents, but sometimes that’s good."
"After the race is when it truly sank in that it was a packed gallery and everyone were cheering for me. It was special to win a medal in front of the Chief Minister. Even during the victory ceremony, the crowd took off, that’s something I had never experienced before. In a major meet in front of home crowd.”
The Missed Gold and What It Means for His Future
Swimming the 50m backstroke soon after his 200m freestyle feat, Srihari felt that it was a setback. He believes that “It could have been a gold in 50m backstroke. My personal best was the gold medal time here. But an event just before that and two swims in the morning during heats, I did feel the fatigue.”
Still, he’s not abandoning his roots in backstroke. “I’m still going to swim the backstrokes, 200m freestyle is an event I was swimming since I was an age‑grouper. And I swim it well even without training specifically for it. I have good rhythm in my stroke, train well, this season has been a complete switch from swimming backstroke to freestyle and to be able to repeat 1:48 in 200m freestyle is good and to get one whole second off is not very common but I have been able to do it so for next year there will be a lot of work that I will be doing on this event.”
Srihari has more events ahead of him, the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, the 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m freestyle relay will all see him in action. With the home crowd momentum behind him, his shift toward middle distance freestyle may just open new doors in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games seasons ahead.
