In 2019, the ministry of sports organized the Khelo India tournament. The goal of this tournament was to find players who can compete with the world and bring medals for India. Players like Srihari Natarajan, Siva Sridhar, are the product of this tournament.
Indian swimming players do not get any scientific help or modern equipment. Many of the players go to the U.S. or Thailand for their training. However, going abroad for swimming training is quite expensive, and most of the players cannot afford it.
Swimming coach C Jairaj said players get exposure to turf ground when they participate in abroad tournaments. Currently, the main focus is the Tokyo Olympic 2020. Srihari Natraj has qualified for Olympic group B. He will hopefully perform well in the tournament.
On average, western players have bigger palm and feet size in comparison to Indian players. Hence, they have the edge over the Indian players. However, players like Srihari Natraj are training very hard to compete with foreign players.
In the 10th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships 2019, India won more than 60 medals. In 2017, India had won 47 medals. There is a hike in the performance of the players. Swimming Federation of India is grooming players for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic 2020.
Recently, legendary swimming player Stephanie Rice announced to open a swimming academy in India. She says that India has a lot of potential players, but due to the lack of proper coaching and infrastructure, some players never get exposure.
Indian swimmer Srihari Natraj who has qualified for Olympic group B, says that he is working in gyms regularly to gain strength and coach Jairaj is helping him in the pool. He wants to bring the Olympic gold medal in swimming for the country.
All in all, the Indian swimmer is eyeing for a medal in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic 2020.