Prakash and Irish swimmer Brendan Hyland had a pretty intense battle for third place as the race edged closer to its end.
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Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash delivered a good performance in the men’s 200m butterfly heat 2 at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, but he only marginally missed out on finishing in the top three. Prakash finished in fourth place, only 0.13 seconds behind Irish swimmer Brendan Hyland. He finished the race with a time of 1:57:22. It was not enough to earn him a place in the semi-finals of the competition. The swimmer had to be one of the 16 fastest ones to make it to the next stage, which he failed to do finishing 24th with regard to the overall time taken.
Prakash was in the fourth lane, and his group included the likes of Norwegian swimmer Tomoe Hvas and Singapore’s Zheng Wen Quah. The duo came first and second respectively, followed by Hyland. The Indian swimmer was not off to a great start in the race as he fell behind in the early stages of the race. It could have been down to a mistake while he was beginning. However, he made an incredible recovery during the third and fourth 50m runs. He and Hyland had a pretty intense battle for third place as the race edged closer to its end.
The swimmer had already created history when he became the first Indian swimmer to breach the Olympic qualification ‘A’ mark with a timing of 1:56.38, only 0.1 seconds under the ‘A’ mark. The overall result of Prakash in the Games might be seen as a little disappointing by some fans but it was a good performance from the swimmer in the actual race. He was in fifth place by the end of the 100m race and looked unlikely to finish in the top three. To put up a good fight for third place from that position is indeed quite impressive.
However, Prakash’s medal hopes are not completely extinguished yet. The swimmer is scheduled to take part in the men’s 100m butterfly event on Thursday. He might not be one of the favourites to take something away from it but he is skilful enough to come in within a shout. Prakash will need to improve on his speed for it. The 200m butterfly event is a test of stamina more than speed due to the sheer distance the swimmers have to cover. The 100m event, on the other hand, is a different ball game.
The swimming team of the Indian contingent at the Olympics this year has not been able to impress as of yet. Prakash remains the only Indian swimmer who is still part of the Games. The other two, Maana Patel and Srihari Nataraj, have already been eliminated from their respective competitions.
