Sajan Prakash clocked his third fastest time in the 100m butterfly, 53.77 seconds, in the Latvian Open Swimming Championships in Riga last week. In his first competitive event since the World Championships in November 2019, he picked up bronze and dipped inside the B qualifying standard for the FINA World Aquatics Championships to be held in Fukoka in May next.
Competing alongside three swimmers from Belarus, he did well to leave teenager Arseni Barzhakou – sixth in the 50m butterfly final at the World Junior Championships in 2019 – in the fourth place. Only Yauhen Tsurkin (52.62 seconds) and Grigori Pekarski (53.46) finished ahead of Sajan Prakash. The Indian’s personal best, 53.46 seconds, was clocked in September 2018.
The 27-year-old Sajan also won the 200m butterfly final in 1:59.31, but he was off the Olympic Qualifying Time (or the A cut as it is popularly known) of 1:56.48. Indian teenagers Tanish George Mathew and Vedaant Madhavan picked up a bronze medal each in 200m freestyle (1:53.03) and 1500m Freestyle (16:28.25) respectively.
Tanish George Mathew, 17, lowered his personal best in the event from 1:57.51 which he had clocked in the National Junior Aquatics Championships in June 2019. Similarly, actor R Madhavan’s son, 15-year-old Vedaant Madhavan, clocked a personal best time in the endurance event, improving upon the 17:25.41 which he clocked at the same meet in Rajkot.
Both teenagers last figured in a competition in the Asian Age-Group Aquatics Championships in Bengaluru in September 2019 and will be pleased with their overall form.
At a time when most of their compatriots are training in the National Camp in Bengaluru, the trio moved from Dubai where National Coach Pradeep Kumar is based to compete in the Riga event that has been listed by the World Swimming Federation, FINA, as a qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and next year’s Fukoaka World Championships.
The Swimming Federation of India has scheduled a National Championships in Rajkot later this month and, since it has plans to host another in June, has preferred not to mark it as an event in which Olympic Games or World Championship qualification times can be set. A number of State Association are in the process of conducting their State meets ahead of the Nationals in Rajkot.
Latvian Open results (Indian swimmers only):
50m Freestyle: 15. Vedaant Madhavan 24.95 seconds.
100m Freestyle: 18. Vedaant Madhavan 54.09 seconds.
200m Freestyle: 3. Tanish George Mathew 1:53.03 (1:54.35 in preliminaries); 5. Vedaant Madhavan 1:57.51 (1:58.53); Sajan Prakash (withdrawn)
400m Freestyle: 4. Vedaant Madhavan 4:08.69
1500m Freestyle: 3. Vedaant Madhavan 16:28.25; Sajan Prakash (withdrawn).
50m Butterfly: 11. Tanish George Mathew 25.65 seconds (25.55 in preliminaries); Sajan Prakash (withdrawn from finals; 25.22 in preliminaries).
100m Butterfly: 3. Sajan Prakash 53.77 seconds (54.19 in preliminaries); 10. Tanish George Mathew 55.57 (55.75 in preliminaries).
200m Butterfly: 1. Sajan Prakash 1:59.31 (2:02.46 in preliminaries); 4. Tanish George Mathew 2:05.93 (2:04.49 in preliminaries).
Photo: Courtesy, Sajan Prakash’s Twitter.
