The Indian swimming campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics concluded with both Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu falling short in their respective events during the heats.
Srihari Nataraj’s performance
Nataraj clocked 55.01 seconds, finishing second in heat 2 and 33rd overall among a field of 46 swimmers. His best time in this event is 53.77 seconds, achieved at the 2021 Sette Colli Trophy. Only the top 16 swimmers from the heats progressed to the semi-finals, which took place later in the day.
Hungarian swimmer Hubert Kos (the 2023 200m backstroke world champion) set a national record with 52.78 seconds to top the men’s 100 backstroke heats. Great Britain’s Jonny Marshall secured the final spot for the semis with a time of 53.93 seconds.
The 14-year-old Desinghu, the youngest member of India’s contingent, clocked 2:06.96 to top heat 1. Desinghu holds the national swimming record of 2:04.24 in this event. She finished 23rd among 30 swimmers across four heats and did not progress to the next round. This was Desinghu’s first Olympic appearance.
Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan led the women’s 200m freestyle with a time of 1:55.79, while Romania’s Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu secured the last semi-final spot with 1:59.29 seconds.
🇮🇳 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀! Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu fail to advance past the heats in the men's 100m backstroke and women's 200m freestyle events respectively. A top 16 finish was required for qualification to the semi-final.
— India at Paris 2024 Olympics (@sportwalkmedia) July 28, 2024
India fielded only two swimmers at Paris 2024 via Universality Places. Unfortunately, neither Srihari Nataraj nor Dhinidhi Desinghu qualified for the semi-finals in their respective events, marking the end of India’s swimming campaign.
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