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Jonathan SelvarajESPN
Srihari Nataraj has been growing his hair recently. This isn't uncommon for a regular 19-year-old like he is. It is, however, unusual if you are an elite swimmer as Nataraj, who holds the national record in the 100m backstroke, also is. Long hair is verboten in the pool. Any extra bit that peeks out of a swimming cap causes drag in the water and consequently slower times.
But Nataraj hasn't been in the water in many months now. Swimming pools have been shut in India since March as part of the government's measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. So Nataraj has stayed away from trimmers for the first time since he started swimming as a boy. "My hair is nearly down to my chin. The last time it was this long was before I started swimming, when I was a baby," he says.
Nataraj, though, will be bringing out his clippers. On Saturday, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced that three swimmers -- Nataraj, Kushagra Rawat and Virdhawal Khade -- had been sanctioned to travel to Dubai where they could resume the training that had been in limbo for the past five months. The three will train at the Aqua Nation Swimming Academy under national coach Pradeep Kumar.
The three were chosen since they all had already met the B Qualification Standard for the Olympics -- Nataraj in the 100m backstroke, Rawat in the 400m freestyle and Khade in the 50m freestyle dash. All three would now be looking to meet the A Standard which would earn them direct qualification to the Olympics. While three other swimmers -- Advait Page, Sajan Prakash and Aryan Makhija -- had also met the B qualification mark, they were already training outside the country. Prakash is in Thailand where he was training prior to the lockdown in India. Page and Makhija are training in the USA where they attend college.
While they are grateful to finally be getting a chance to return to the pool once again, the Indian swimmers heading to Dubai acknowledge that the five-month layoff has severely affected them. "I'd been training in Australia, and in March I'd set a national record [3.52.75] in the 400m freestyle and gone under the B Standard. After I returned to India, I felt the A Standard [3.46.78] was just around the corner. When the lockdown started, I thought it would be a month before we started training again. Then, of course, that restart kept getting postponed," the 20-year-old Rawat.
Even as the date for a possible restart kept getting pushed back, the swimmers have manfully done their best with what's possible. "It's not the same as doing workouts in the pool, but my dry-land workouts are pretty intense. I've actually never worked this hard out of the pool in my career. I'm doing a really high number of repetitions with little rest between sets. That builds tolerance for high lactose [the chemical that causes a burning sensation after prolonged exercise] levels in the muscle. I'm doing this so that when I get back in the pool, I'm not wasting too much time," says Nataraj.
In Dubai, though, coach Pradeep knows just how difficult the return will be for them anyway. While he's known to be a hard taskmaster capable of whipping trainees into shape, Pradeep is clear that there will be no miracles that can be expected in the two months that the swimmers have been sanctioned to train in Dubai. "They haven't touched water for five months. They will be starting almost as beginners now. Getting back that water feeling is so important. We have to be very careful and systematic about how we go about their training. The first two months will be taken to get back into some kind of shape. This isn't about getting to competition state. That's a long way away," he says.
Nataraj would agree with that. Still a teenager, he has seen his body visibly transform over the five months he has been in India. "I've grown both in height and size. I'm six foot three and I've grown another two centimetres since March. Because I'm doing a lot of workouts, my shoulders have become broader and I've got some more definition in my leg. But I've also put on a little bit of weight. I know it's not fat but I need to lose a little. I'm 81kg and I was 79 before the lockdown. I can lose 2kg in a week if I have three sessions of training. All the weight loss will come in the pool. That's where all the work happens for me," he says.
The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) understands this as well. "We know the international calendar won't have any tournaments until next year, but we want our swimmers to be in shape by December. They need to be in hard training by then and they can look to participate in competitions by February," says Monal Chokshi, secretary general of the SFI.
While Nataraj, Rawat and Khade have been sanctioned a two-month training trip in Dubai, Chokshi still hopes that swimming pools could reopen in India before that. "If they still aren't, we will have to consider extending the period of training," he says. Opening pools in India would also benefit the other high-level swimmers who haven't got the opportunity to train abroad. "When the government was drawing up plans to send our swimmers out of India for training, we had discussions for sending a larger group. There were 14 other athletes who were on the verge of meeting the B qualification standard and the Target Olympic Podium developmental group. We hope swimming pools in India will reopen soon. Otherwise, we would have to request SAI to consider sending them abroad as well," he says.
"The first two months will be taken to get back into some kind of shape. This isn't about getting to competition state. That's a long way away." Pradeep Kumar, national coach
This isn't because they have strong prospects for qualification for the Olympics. "Preparation for the Asian Games is a bigger concern for us than the Olympics. While we want our athletes to qualify for the Olympics, we also know we have really good medal chances at the Asian Games [India's last medal was a bronze won by Sandeep Sejwal at the 2014 edition]. We have less than two years to be prepared for it, so we need to start as soon as possible," says coach Pradeep.
The 2022 Asian Games are on Nataraj's mind too. At the 2018 edition, as a 17-year-old, he had finished sixth in the 200m backstroke. Since then he has improved steadily. "When I see the time I've dropped since then, I'm fairly confident I could win more than one medal. Getting back to training ensures I am able to build on that progress. It's a big boost. I'm just happy it's happening," he says.
If that means cutting his long hair, Nataraj is fine with it. "I tried wearing a swim cap over my head the other day and it wouldn't go over my head. I was trying to grow an Afro but that won't work in my sport. I don't want to but I'll try to find a way to save as much as I can. But if I have to do it, it will go," he says.
The Link LonkAugust 16, 2020 at 07:43PM
https://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/29672872/after-five-dry-months-swimmers-srihari-natraj-kushagra-rawat-virdhawal-khade-look-boost-desert
After five dry months, swimmers Srihari Nataraj, Kushagra Rawat and Virdhawal Khade look for boost in desert - ESPN
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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