Srihari Nataraj qualifies for Men’s 50m backstroke final at 2023 Asian Games

Srihari Nataraj finishes 6th in the heats of the Men's 100m Breaststroke event.

Srihari Nataraj qualifies for Men’s 50m backstroke final at 2023 Asian Games

Srihari Nataraj (Source: Open Source/X/Twitter)

Srihari Nataraj has qualified for the Men’s 50m Backstroke Final at the 2023 Asian Games. The Indian swimmer finished 6th overall in heats to book a place in the finals. Nataraj has been among the leading swimmers for India over the past year, and he has proved it with his performance in the heats.

There were a total of four heats in the event, with the Indian being placed in the final heat alongside some of the top medal contenders. He finished third in his heat, as Jiayu Xu finished on top. Takeshi Kawamoto also had a decent swim, finishing in the second place.

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Srihari Nataraj will look to better his time in the finals, as he clocked 25.43 in the heats. He will certainly have to do a lot better in the finals if he is to deliver India’s first medal in swimming at the 2023 Asian Games.

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Srihari Nataraj finishes 6th overall in heats for Men’s 50m backstroke

The Men’s 50m backstroke final will be held later in the day, at 7:30 PM local time. Srihari Nataraj is not among the top medal contenders, but will certainly look to better his personal best in the finals.

Srihari Nataraj (Source: Swimming)
Srihari Nataraj (Source: Twitter)

Likith Selvaraj Prema has also reached the Men’s 100m Breaststroke final. The Indian swimmer finished 8th overall in the heats, as his time was just enough to help him book a place in the finals.

He clocked a timing of 1:01.98 in Heat 3, where he finished 4th. Zibei Yan of China won that heat pretty comfortably, with a timing of 1:01.49. Haiyang Qin has already set the Games record for the event in the Heats, with a timing of 58.35. He enters the final as the top contender for the gold medal, as he has established clear daylight between him and the rest of the field.

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