Swimming in CWG: Srihari Nataraj books final berth in men's 100m backstroke
Birmingham (PTI): Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj has qualified for the finals of men's 100m backstroke after clocking 54:55 seconds in the semi-final event at the ongoing Commonwealth Games here.
The 21-year-old finished fourth in his heat and seventh overall to secure a berth in the medal event that will take place on Sunday.
South African Pieter Coetze, however, was the fastest swimmer across both the semi-finals, clocking 53.67s on day one of the competition.
The Bengaluru lad will now set his sights on becoming only the second Indian swimmer to bag a medal in the Commonwealth Games since Prasanta Karmakar's historic bronze in the para-swimming event at the Delhi CWG in 2010.
At the Tokyo Olympics last year, Nataraj had become the first Indian to swim in the classification A heat. The young swimmer had clocked 54:31s to finish 27th in the men's 100m backstroke event.
Earlier, in men's 400m Freestyle heats, Kushagra Rawat failed to advance to the semifinals after clocking 3:57.45 to finish 14th overall.
Sajan Prakash too missed out in the men's 50m butterfly event as he finished eighth clocking 25.01s.
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Attacks on Christians contradict PM's message of harmony, visit to church: Gehlot
Jaipur (PTI): Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday expressed concern over the reported attacks and disruptions in prayer gatherings of the Christian community in different parts of the country, saying such incidents were "worrying and condemnable".
In a post on X, Gehlot said that while the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting a church and giving a message of peace and harmony, news of attacks on members of the Christian community from various regions reflected a serious contradiction.
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"Symbolic gestures would not be enough, and strict legal action was required against those spreading hatred," the senior Congress leader said.
He added that Indian culture has always upheld the spirit of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", where every citizen has full freedom to practise their faith.
Gehlot urged the Centre and state governments to uphold the rule of law and ensure that no citizen is forced to celebrate their festival under fear.
