Glasgow, July 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) Srihari Nataraj extended India's campaign in the Commonwealth Games 2026 swimming competition by advancing to the men's 100m backstroke semifinals, while veteran Sajan Prakash's challenge came to an end after he missed qualification in the men's 50m butterfly on Tuesday.
Nataraj, a two-time Olympian and India's national record holder in the event, safely progressed after finishing among the fastest 16 swimmers across the heats. The Bengaluru swimmer stopped the clock at 55.58 seconds to place fifth in his heat and 13th overall, comfortably securing a place in the semifinals scheduled later in the day.
The 25-year-old covered the opening 50 metres in 26.26 seconds before completing the race in 55.58. Although well outside his personal best of 53.77 seconds, set in 2021 and still the Indian national record, the timing proved sufficient to keep his medal hopes alive.
The qualification comes a day after Nataraj featured in India's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team, which reached the final before finishing sixth.
In contrast, it proved to be another difficult outing for Sajan Prakash, whose Commonwealth Games campaign concluded without another appearance beyond the preliminary rounds.
Competing in the ninth and final heat of the men's 50m butterfly, the 32-year-old touched the wall in 24.94 seconds, placing eighth in his race and 28th overall. The performance left him well short of the qualification places and significantly outside his national record of 23.83 seconds.
The result followed another disappointing swim for the two-time Olympian, who had finished eighth in Monday's men's 200m butterfly final with a time of 1:58.05. That effort also fell below his personal best and national record of 1:56.38, highlighting a challenging campaign for one of India's most experienced swimmers.
With Nataraj progressing to the semifinals, India's hopes in the pool now rest largely on the backstroke specialist as he looks to become only the second Indian swimmer to win a Commonwealth Games medal.
To date, Prasanta Karmakar remains the country's lone medallist in Commonwealth Games swimming, having claimed bronze in the men's 50m freestyle S9 para event at the 2010 Delhi Games.
Source: IANS
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