Sajan Prakash creates history, becomes first-ever Indian swimmer to make Olympic 'A' cut
New Delhi, Jun 26: Sajan Prakash on Saturday became the first-ever Indian swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games by breaching the 'A' standard time, clocking 1:56:38 seconds in the men's 200m butterfly event at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Italy.
The Games 'A' standard was set at 1:56.48 seconds and the 27-year-old Prakash completed the run 0.10 seconds faster at the FINA-accredited Olympic qualifier.
"I have worked very hard for this, and I was confident with the way I had trained," Prakash was quoted as saying in a press release.
"This was my last chance, and I knew I had to do it here. I had come so close to the qualifying mark in the previous meets, but my Coach Pradeep Sir and I planned my tapering in such a way that I would peak at these two events in Serbia and Rome."
"I am grateful to all the support I have received from SFI, SAI and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). I believed in myself and my Coach Pradeep Kumar. Pradeep Sir was the anchor and I owe this to him. I knew I had it in me, and I am glad I achieved it," added Sajan.
Prakash also rewrote his own national record of 1:56.96s that he had set last week at the Belgrade Trophy swimming competition.
This will be Prakash's second successive Olympics, having represented India in the 2016 Rio Games.
"Historic moment in Indian Swimming !!! Sajan Prakash breaks the glass ceiling clocks 1:56.38 an Olympic qualification time. CONGRATULATIONS," tweeted Swimming Federation of India.
Prakash will take part in the Tokyo Games alongside Maana Patel, who has been nominated by the Swimming Federation of India for the Universality places.
Prakash's direct qualification means Srihari Nataraj, who missed the 'A' the 100m men's backstroke by 0.05s in Rome on Friday, will not be competing in the Tokyo Games despite being nominated for the Universality places.
The Universality quota allows one male and one female competitor from a country to participate in the Olympics, provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies for the Games or receives a FINA invite based on his or her Olympic Selection time (B time).
The Kerala swimmer had always been optimistic about breaching the elusive 'A' mark.
"This is not my peak yet, when I peak after some skill sharpening, after that I think it (A mark) will happen. I have to be patient for that," he had told PTI in April after he clocked 1.57.85s in the Uzbekistan Open Championship.
Since then he has constantly improved his time. Last week, in the Belgrade Trophy swimming competition he had clocked 1:56.96 seconds.
It was a good day for Indian swimming as TOPS developmental swimmer Kenisha Gupta also created a national record.
The Mumbai swimmer clocked 57.35 second in the 100m freestyle event at the Rome event.
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Businessman lured by FB friend, attacked for extortion in K'taka; 4 held
Madikeri (Karnataka) (PTI): Four people were arrested for allegedly assaulting, illegally confining and attempting to extort money from a 39-year-old businessman who was lured through a honeytrap set up on social media, police said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Rachana, Malati, Darshan and Ravi.
Police said efforts are underway to nab the remaining suspects involved in the incident, which occurred on December 12 in Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu.
According to the complaint, the victim, a resident of Maddur taluk in Mandya district, was befriended by a woman identified as Rachana through Facebook, who later sought financial assistance and received Rs 5,000 from him via PhonePe on November 28.
When he asked her to return the money, the woman allegedly asked him to travel to Mysuru or Kushalnagar, promising to meet him.
The police said the woman later called the victim to Madikeri on December 12 and took him to a house near the market area, where they spent some time and consumed alcohol in the evening.
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Later that night, citing an emergency, the woman left the house. After her departure, three men allegedly broke into the house and attacked the victim, assaulting him with a stick and the handle of a sword, causing injuries to his face, mouth, chest and leg, the FIR stated.
The complainant alleged that he was forcibly confined, stripped and a nude video of him was recorded. The accused also allegedly threatened him with a toy gun, demanding Rs 50 lakh and warning that the video would be uploaded on social media if the money was not paid.
Police said the victim was held captive and somehow managed to escape in the early hours of December 13. However, after he escaped, the accused allegedly attempted to kidnap him in an autorickshaw, an incident that was captured on CCTV cameras.
Based on his complaint at the Madikeri Town police station, a case was registered under Sections 310(2) (dacoity), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
“Four accused, including two women, have been arrested. Efforts are on to nab two more absconding accused. Further investigation is on,” he added.
