RAJKOT: History seems to have repeated itself. Seven years ago, double Olympian swimmer Sajan Prakash had dominated the National games in Kerala by winning six gold and three silver medals to be crowned “Best Athlete” of the Games. It was a superhuman effort from Sajan, with the performance giving the Kerala swimmer the confidence to reach the qualifying mark for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Competing in his second National Games here in Gujarat, Sajan, India’s first-ever swimmer to cross the FINA ‘A’ Olympic qualifying mark when he clocked the national record 1:56.38 in the 200m butterfly during the meet from Sette Colli in Rome last year, left his fellow competitors in his wake by putting on a memorable show of masterful swimming at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex.
Sajan ended his Games campaign with five gold, two silver and a bronze in the butterfly, freestyle and medley events, sealing the ‘best athlete’ award for the second time in a row. “I am happy to participate in the Games. The announcement of the Games, the biggest sporting event in the country, was sudden but welcome. I’m happy with my performance even though I’m not at my best. I wanted to compete to see how my body reacts. Winning five gold medals is a good achievement,” he said.
Sajan had missed the competition on Monday while with doctors investigating pain in his abdominal area during the first day’s races. “We did a scan and luckily it was just a muscle issue. I didn’t want to carry an injury from the Games,” he said, indicating he was conservative in his approach here.
This was also reflected in Sajan’s timing. Her winning time of 55.32 seconds in the 100m butterfly final was slower than her own Games record time of 55.03 seconds, not to mention her personal best time of 53.24 set at the USA Nationals. last year in Bengaluru or even the 54.14 he achieved at the Danish Open. in April this year. Still, he persevered and ended his campaign with a bang at the Games, winning gold in the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley on Friday.
Sajan said it was his commitment to swimming and his desire to appear as the sport’s best ambassador that drove him to give his all in the pool at the Games. “I have heard that young athletes like Aneesh Gowda speak well of me. I am grateful for any positive impact I have been able to have on young swimmers. Being kind and courteous should become the norm and I want to give the right example to change things,” added Sajan.
Competing in his second National Games here in Gujarat, Sajan, India’s first-ever swimmer to cross the FINA ‘A’ Olympic qualifying mark when he clocked the national record 1:56.38 in the 200m butterfly during the meet from Sette Colli in Rome last year, left his fellow competitors in his wake by putting on a memorable show of masterful swimming at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex.
Sajan ended his Games campaign with five gold, two silver and a bronze in the butterfly, freestyle and medley events, sealing the ‘best athlete’ award for the second time in a row. “I am happy to participate in the Games. The announcement of the Games, the biggest sporting event in the country, was sudden but welcome. I’m happy with my performance even though I’m not at my best. I wanted to compete to see how my body reacts. Winning five gold medals is a good achievement,” he said.
Sajan had missed the competition on Monday while with doctors investigating pain in his abdominal area during the first day’s races. “We did a scan and luckily it was just a muscle issue. I didn’t want to carry an injury from the Games,” he said, indicating he was conservative in his approach here.
This was also reflected in Sajan’s timing. Her winning time of 55.32 seconds in the 100m butterfly final was slower than her own Games record time of 55.03 seconds, not to mention her personal best time of 53.24 set at the USA Nationals. last year in Bengaluru or even the 54.14 he achieved at the Danish Open. in April this year. Still, he persevered and ended his campaign with a bang at the Games, winning gold in the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley on Friday.
Sajan said it was his commitment to swimming and his desire to appear as the sport’s best ambassador that drove him to give his all in the pool at the Games. “I have heard that young athletes like Aneesh Gowda speak well of me. I am grateful for any positive impact I have been able to have on young swimmers. Being kind and courteous should become the norm and I want to give the right example to change things,” added Sajan.
