Swimmer Sajan Prakash to train at Bond University in Australia

Sajan Prakash is set to train at Bond University in Queensland, Australia.

The renowned Indian swimmer has received a World Aquatics scholarship that will bear his boarding, lodging and training expenses.

Prakash is the first Indian swimmer ever to earn an Olympic “A” cut when he recorded 1:56.38 seconds in the 200 butterfly event in the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome.

The 30-year-old currently has eight individual National Records (NR) to his credit.

Now the star swimmer will prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics under the tutelage of Chris Mooney, who has mostly guided Australian Kaylee McKeown to three gold medal-winning displays at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“This will be a good opportunity for me to train under a great coach at Bond University and use the world class facilities. My First Goal Is To Attain A Standard Qualification Mark In Paris Olympics Which Is Around 1.56.30s. This competition has become even tougher and I am confident that this training will help me achieve this,” Prakash said.

Prakash was placed 23rd in the 200m butterfly category at the World Championships in 2023 and fifth at the Asian Games.

The Worl Aquatics scholarship programme provides scholarships to promising athletes from countries without elite infrastructure for competitive swimming. The scholarships can take on many forms, which include sending athletes to train abroad at designated World Aquatics training centres in the US, Senegal, France, Russia, and Thailand; they can send athletes to train at private clubs like the one based at Bond University; or they can financially support the development of an athlete’s training at home.