Bengaluru-lad Srihari Natraj qualifies for semifinals in men’s 50m backstroke at CWG

Birmingham: Indian swimmer Srihari Natraj clocked 25.52 seconds to qualify for the semifinals of men’s 50m backstroke event at the 22nd Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Indian from Bengaluru was the second fastest swimmer in his heat and eighth fastest overall.

He has a personal best of 24.40s in men’s 50m backstroke, having achieved it at 15th FINA World Swimming Championships last year in UAE.

Natraj had finished seventh in the men’s 100m backstroke.

In men’s 200m butterfly, Sajan Prakash finished fourth in his heat after clocking 1:58:99s and was put in the reserve list.

The best eight swimmers progress to the final in men’s 200m butterfly.