Jaipur: Olympian Srihari Nataraj admits that despite winning nine gold medals at the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025, he did not give anywhere near his best in terms of timing and his focus this time was not on his performance but only on winning medals for Jain University.
The 24-year-old, one of India’s most decorated swimmers, is in his off-season after winning seven medals at the Asian Swimming Championships in Ahmedabad last month, failing to exert himself in the pool but coming way ahead of the competition to win the medals for his university.
Srihari’s tally of nine gold medals and two silver medals, along with some strong performances from his teammates, ensured that Jain University eventually reached its tally of 45 medals from the pool alone, including 27 gold medals.
But the multiple national record holder is already looking forward to next year’s Asian Games in Japan and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and is confident of winning a medal in both of those competitions.
“I will be 25 at the Asian Games and that is the age when swimmers generally peak. Now I know a lot about my swimming, my body and I am confident that I can win a medal there,” Nataraj told SAI Media after wrapping up his campaign for the Khelo India University Games here.
Srihari hopes that with his seven medals at the Asian Aquatics Championships, he will be accepted into the Target Asian Games Group (TAG) on the lines of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which will help him systematically prepare for the continental multi-discipline event.
“After the inaugural Khelo India Games in 2018, I was selected for TOPS and the support I received transformed my career,” said Srihari, who represented the country at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, after Nataraj returned empty-handed from the Paris Olympics and was eliminated in the heats of the 100m backstroke, he was excluded from the TOPS core group by the sports ministry. TAGG was founded last year to provide more targeted support to the medal prospects at the Asian Games and Nataraj sees a chance of finding a place there after his exploits at the Asian Swimming Championships.
“I hope that with my 7 medals at the Asian Championships, I can get support for the Asian Games under TAGG. I think apart from me and Sajan (Prakash), there is no one who is close to an Asian Games medal in swimming and this is my best chance to win a medal at the Asian Games,” he added.
Speaking about the role of Khelo India University Games in his career path, Srihari said participating in KIUG is important for senior swimmers as it gives them another quality competition. “Swimmers in India at the senior level don’t get to take part in many competitions in India. There are senior national championships and a university national championship. So this is another tournament where they can test themselves,” he concluded.
