Srihari wins gold, comes close to Olympics ‘A’ cut

Tashkent

Top Indian swimmer Srihari Natarajan won the gold medal but missed the Olympics ‘A’ qualification time in the 100m backstroke event at the Uzbekistan Open Championship. The-20-year-old, who had achieved the ‘B’ standard for the Tokyo Games in 2019, won gold in 54.07s. The ‘A’ cut is 53.85s. A ‘B’ mark means the swimmer will receive an invitation to Tokyo if the available quota places are not filled. Maana Patel won the women’s 100m backstroke gold ahead of compatriot Suvana Baskar. Sajan Prakash bagged his third gold of the event in the 400m men’s freestyle event. Shivani Kataria won gold in the women’s 400m freestyle. Chandigarh’s Chahat Arora won gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke event.

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