Biography

Srihari Nataraj is an Indian competition swimmer specialised in backstroke style swimming. He is the youngest Indian swimmer to qualify for the FINA A standard qualification time in the mens 100m backstroke time trial. He holds several records to his name, and he is considered among the most successful swimmers in India.Srihari Nataraj started practising swimming at the age of 2. He belongs to a family of cricketers and swimmers. His brother is a swimmer, three of his paternal uncles have played Ranji matches, and one of his cousins has played along with the Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid. Initially, he also wanted to pursue his career in cricket.Srihari Nataraj first participated in the swimming competition when he was just five years old. Srihari explains his first race as My first race was when I was 5 Years old. I was swimming for two events. It was a very memorable race because it was one of the races which kindled my career in swimming. That is the reason Im a swimmer now. Being the youngest swimmer and winning two golds was very motivating and exciting!.Srihari Nataraj used to practise freestyle in the initial phase of his career, but on his mentors recommendation, he started practising the backstroke at the age of ten and won his first gold medal with this technique.Srihari Nataraj made his international debut with the 2015 Asian Age Group Swimming Championships, where he acquired the 8th position in 200m Medley and 6th in 100m Backstroke.In 2017, Srihari Nataraj won his first gold medal at the National Junior Aquatic Championships, marking 57.33 seconds in 100m Backstroke event. Thereafter, he participated in many national and international swimming events, collecting several gold and silver medals.Srihari Nataraj marked his first national record in 2017 at the National Junior Aquatic Championships in Pune. He participated in 100m Backstroke, 50m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, and 200m Freestyle, and he ended up winning the gold medal in each category.Srihari Nataraj has represented India at the 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Commonwealth Games, and 2019 World Aquatics Championships.Khelo India Youth Games 2019 is one of the highlights of Sriharis career when he bagged a total of 7 gold medals throughout the championship. Srihari Nataraj medals from Khelo India Youth Games 2019.Srihari Natarajs father was not convinced about sending him to further World Championships anymore as they had to spend a lot of money for these championships. Sriharis mother, in an interview, said, When his dad heard that we had to spend so much for the World Championships, he said, You need not go. If you have to go to the worlds spending money, what value do your achievements have? She further added, We have spent nearly INR 8 lakh for Sriharis two World Championships within the last one month or so, the senior worlds in Gwangju in July and the junior in Budapest, which ended a few days ago. We spend INR 70,000-80,000 every month for his swimming and have spent nearly INR 30 lakh for his sport over the last few years..