Top swimmers participating in Khelo India School Games

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi :  The gangling Srihari Nataraj and Saloni Dalal, both National record holders, Swadesh Mondal, Vedant Bapna, Advait Page are among a host of swimmers battling for 35 gold medals in  Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Swimming pool at the inaugural Khelo India School Games here.

Swimming is part of the 16-discipline event and is expected to produce a high level of competition. Rayna Saldanha, Kenisha Gupta, Astha Choudhary, Priyanga Pughazarasu, Mayuri Lingaraj, Firdoush Kayamkhani and Anubhuti Baruah are other swimmers expected to make a splash with eye-catching performances.

“We are excited that there has been a wonderful response from across the country for the flagship event, the inaugural Khelo India School Games,” Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said on the commencement of the Games that run till February 8, according to a PIB release.

Srihari Nataraj holds national records in all three backstroke races – 50m, 100m and 200m. The Karnataka boy, who will be representing Jai Hind College (Bengaluru). A fan of swimming great Michael Phelps, Srihari says he wants to make his own mark and his eyes are set on the Youth Olympics to be held in Buenos Aires in November this year and the Tokyo Olympics of 2020 thereafter. His long-term goal is to win a medal in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Karnataka will have strong representation with Saloni Dalal also looking to better her own National record in the 200m breaststroke event. Saloni was the youngest medal winner in the 2015 National Games in Kerala when she got bronze in her event at the age of 12, and has only risen in stature since then, beating her own National record twice already.

Representing PKD Matric Higher Secondary School, Saloni Dalal is wary of her opponent Liana Fathema who could put up a good fight and ruin her chances of a great result. Saloni Dalal also idolises Michael Phelps and with the kind of hard work that she is currently putting in under the guidance of Prakash Arumugam hopes to participate in 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

Mondal is the Under-14 ace with five National gold medals and records in 200m IM (2:15:46), 200m butterfly (2:28:28) and 400m IM (4:49:58). He has made rapid strides. Hailing from the small town of Champahati in rural Bengal, Mondal chose the SAI training academy in New Delhi over Kolkata with an eye on better facilities and has trained under head coach Partha Pratim Majumder.