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Srihari Nataraj sets National Record in semifinals, finishes 7th in final

With a timing of 54.69s in Tuesday's semifinals, the 18-year-old Nataraj qualified for Wednesday's final.

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India's young swimmer from Bengaluru, Srihari Nataraj set a new national record in the 100m backstroke at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday. With a timing of 54.69s in Tuesday's semifinals, the 18-year-old Nataraj qualified for Wednesday's final.

However, Nataraj went a shade slower in Wednesday's final, clocking 54.85s to finish seventh among eight. Nataraj's semifinal time eclipsed the previous mark of 56.53 set by his Karnataka statemate at the 2018 senior nationals in Thiruvananthapuram. Nataraj also met the Olympic Selection Time, the 'B' qualifying mark, of 55.47s.

This 'B' mark actually means nothing as it the 'A' qualifying mark (or the Olympic Qualifying Time) of 53.85s that will matter most if he has to secure a place for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Nataraj was recently part of the Indian team for the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. In what was his first Worlds appearance, the six-footer clocked 55.55 there, only to improve upon it in the junior Worlds with a national record to boot.

Nataraj's earlier coach Nihar Ameen, who helped the young swimmer through his development stage, said that the youngster was an "outstanding talent".

"Nataraj is an outstanding talent and has grown very well," Ameen told DNA on Wednesday. "He has a good frame, is 187cm tall, psychologically very strong and hungry for improved performances. More importantly, he has the strong belief in himself."

By owning the 100m backstroke National Record, Nataraj now owns this discipline all by himself. He is the owner of the 50m backstroke (25.83s) and 200m backstroke (2 min, 02.08s), both set in the heats in the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju.

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