CWG 2026: Srihari Nataraj Storms Into 100m Backstroke Semis; Sajan Prakash Suffers Early Exit

New Delhi, July 28: Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj qualified for the 100 m backstroke semifinals. Nataraj finished fifth in his Heat and 13th overall, clocking a time of 55.58 seconds. According to the rules, the top 16 swimmers move ahead from the preliminary stage.

The semifinals will be held later tonight. Nataraj, whose timing at the 50m mark was 26.26 seconds, has a personal best of 53.77 seconds, which is also the national record that he created in 2021.

However, veteran swimmer Sajan Prakash failed to go past the Heats of the 50 m butterfly event. The timing was well below Sajan's personal best and national record of 23.83 seconds, highlighting a below-par performance from the two-time Olympian.

Earlier in the competition, Sajan had also

struggled in his pet 200m butterfly event, finishing eighth in the final with a time of 1:58.05. The effort was significantly slower than his personal best and national record of 1:56.38, capping a disappointing campaign for one of India's most accomplished swimmers.

Meanwhile, fellow two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraj was part of the Indian men's 4x200m freestyle relay team, which was unable to build on a promising performance in the qualifying rounds. The quartet eventually finished sixth in the final, narrowly missing out on a place on the podium.

In para-swimming, India's R.V.V.B.K. Budigina and Ali Imam successfully booked their places in the final of the men's 50m freestyle event. Budigina finished the qualification round in sixth position after clocking 26.33 seconds, while Imam secured the eighth spot with a timing of 28.41 seconds.

India's history of swimming medals at the Commonwealth Games remains limited, with Prasanta Karmakar holding the distinction of being the country's only swimmer to win a medal at the event. Karmakar claimed a bronze medal in the men's 50m freestyle S9 para category during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.