Srihari Nataraj Aims Freestyle Glory Down the Line at Home Asian Aquatic Championship 2025

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Double Olympic medallist turns attention from backstroke brilliance to freestyle excellence as continental action starts in Ahmedabad. Srihari Nataraj, India's finest swimming hopeful and two time Olympian, will make his presence felt at the Asian Aquatic Championship 2025, which starts tomorrow at the new Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The 11th edition of the top level continental competition is being organized from September 28 to October 11, with India organizing the senior level Asian Aquatics Championships for the first time.

The 24 year old backstroker, India's best backstroker in the classical sense, took the unprecedented step of shifting allegiance to freestyle events this year. The risk has already yielded rich returns at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Germany, where Nataraj rewrote Indian swimming history.

In a demonstration of tremendous flexibility, Nataraj broke Virdhawal Khade's 17 year old national record in the 100m freestyle when he timed 49.46 seconds, improving the old mark of 49.47 seconds established in 2008. He also clocked a national best for 200m freestyle in 1:48.11 seconds, showing his widening scope through sprint and middle distance events.

The record breaking performances justify Nataraj's natural realization of his developing abilities. "I thought that even without formal training, my freestyle times continued to improve each year. That gave the confidence for us to take it as our priority this season and find out where it leads me," he said.

The Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, built at a cost of ₹825 crore, stands as India's dedication towards the construction of world class sports complexes. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah named the complex "the biggest in India and one of the most state of the art sports complexes in the world" during its inauguration on September 14.

Aquatics centre also features an Olympic sized pool (51.5m x 25m x 3m) seating 1,500 spectators, constructed from the latest Myrtha Pool Technology to deliver environmentally friendly, earthquake resistant design. Already lauded globally, presidents of several international sport federations have referred to it as "the most modern sports facility in the world".

Nataraj has been staying at the venue for the last month in the national camp buildup back home in India. "The facilities are excellent here and after training here for a month, I must say it will be a good meet," he said. But the swimmer is realistic about any home advantage: "At the end of the day a pool is a pool, and all we need is a lane.".

The professional path of Nataraj is a testimonial to India's steady but steady establishment in the global swimming community. Bengaluru swimmer Nataraj has consistently defied the trend, one of the very few Indian swimmers to have competed in a series of Olympics after having represented India in both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. His versatility transcends events, having set four national records in long course swimming in the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke events, as well as 200m freestyle.

The whole Indian swimming scene has witnessed record surge in 2025, when 14 national records were broken within the year. The explosion in performance is proof of the bounty of talent coming out of India's swimming academies, with the likes of B. Benedicton Rohit also creating new trails in butterfly events.

The 2025 Asian Aquatic Championship brings together athletes from across Asia competing in swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming. India's 43 strong swimming team, chosen following extensive trials, consists of 21 males and 22 females who have worked tirelessly at the championship complex.

For Nataraj, the tournament is just a stepping stone to greater things. "Then there's this one, then there's the Khelo India University Games in Jaipur in November, then there's next year's Commonwealth Games and Asian Games," he explained. The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and 2026 Aichi Nagoya, Japan hosted Asian Games are the big targets where his performances would make or break qualification.

Nataraj's evolution from backstroke to freestyle is a stunning example of technical flexibility. His backstroke background, which made him India's finest stroke swimmer, has crossed over wonderfully well into freestyle mechanics. Nataraj's process over discipline orientation is ongoing saying, "My job is to be the best swimmer I can be. So that's what I focus on.".

This meticulous process has been his best friend throughout his career, be it his coming of age moment at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Budapest when he shattered all the national records in all the backstroke events or more recently in his freestyle experiments on the world stage.

The Asian Aquatic Championship 2025 is not just another meet for Nataraj and Indian swimming. While India's finest swimmer tests Asia's finest in his adopted sport, the championship is symbolic of India's growing confidence and ability in global aquatic sports. With world class grounds, home turf, and a swimmer at the top of his years, tomorrow's action looks like a turning point for Indian swimming's Asian ambitions.