Swimming Short Course World C'ships: Sajan, Srihari, Kushagra better national records

Prakash massively improved on his time, clocking 1:52.10s in the men’s 200m butterfly while Nataraj clocked 52.81s in the men’s 100m backstroke event.

Sajan finished a creditable 10th in the overall heats but was unable to progress to the finals as the best eight swimmers contest the summit clash.

Indian swimmers Sajan Prakash, Srihari Nataraj and Kushagra Rawat registered 'national records' at the FINA Short Course World Championships on Thursday.

All three swimmers bettered their own best marks in their respective categories.

Prakash massively improved on his time, clocking 1:52.10s in the men’s 200m butterfly event.

The two-time Olympian finished a creditable 10th in the overall heats but was unable to progress to the finals as the best eight swimmers contest the summit clash.

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Nataraj, on the other hand, clocked 52.81s in the men’s 100m backstroke event. He finished 28th overall in the heats, failing to advance to the semi-final.

Delhi swimmer Rawat, who had a superb national meet in October, clocked 3:49.04s in the men's 400m freestyle event.

The fourth Indian swimmer competing in the meet, Ridhima Veerendrakumar clocked 1:03:29s to finish 34th in the women’s 100m backstroke event.

The timings clocked in this meet are different from the long course tournaments.

A short course meet is contested in 25-metre pools, while the 50-metres pools are called long courses. A timing is considered a national record when it has been achieved at the National Aquatic Championships. Hence, the timings clocked elsewhere are called the Best Indian performance.