List of swimmers for Khelo India School Games announced

The Khelo India official website has yesterday released a list of 528 swimmers who will be participating in the event beginning in Delhi from January 31st. Among the names is Srihari Nataraj who made a big splash in the National Championships after he was adjudged "Best Swimmer". The young lad from Karnataka will be among the cream of country's young swimming talent to showcase their talents in the first Khelo India School Games at the iconic Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex here from February 1 to 4. Young Srihari stands over 6 feet tall and he holds the national records for multiple disciplines, namely backstroke over 50m (26.58 seconds), 100m (56.99) and 200m (2:04.11). This student of Bengaluru's Jain University has a mission in life, to do well in his sport and make his country proud on various international level tournaments with an ultimate aim to represent India in the Asian Games in Jakarta this year and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. According to Khelo India's official website, this 16-going on-17 youngster has not let any distractions waver his focus. 'I know that the best talent will get picked for handsome scholarships worth Rs 5 lakh each year for eight years but I am entering five events, including the 100m and 200m freestyle, for the race experience. I want to show that I am the best each time I take to the pool,' he was quoted as saying. Source: Khelo India Among other notable names are Karnataka's Saloni Dalal, who lowered her own 200m breaststroke National Record to 2:43.01. 'It is a great initiative and I am sure a lot of athletes will be looking forward to making an impression and to secure the scholarships. I want to keep improving,' she was quoted as saying. Other elite swimmers who have proven their worth on the National circuit will also be competing. Among them are Maharashtra's Rayna Saldanha (adjudged the best under-17 girl swimmer in the National Junior Aquatics Championships 2017), West Bengal's Swadesh Mondal and Maharashtra's Kenisha Gupta, (the best under-14 swimmers in National Junior Aquatics Championships 2017). They will also be in action in the four-day swimming competitions. The Khelo India School Games held in Delhi is a part of the Central Government's efforts to develop sports at the grassroots level. The competitions across 16 disciplines will help to target, identify and hone future world-class athletes. The level of competition at the School Games promises to be high.