City
Epaper

Maana Patel becomes first Indian female swimmer to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

By Lokmat English Desk | Updated: July 2, 2021 19:27 IST

Open in App
1 / 8
Promising athlete Maana Patel made history on Friday as she became the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics through the 'Universality quota'.
2 / 8
The Universality quota allows one male and one female competitor from a country to participate in the Olympics, provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies for the Games or receives a FINA invite based on his or her Olympic Selection time (B time).
3 / 8
Maana Patel, 21, will join Sajan Prakash and Srihari Natarajan in India's swimming squad for this month's Summer Olympics which will take place in Japan's capital city from July 23 to August 8.
4 / 8
Maana will compete in the women's 100m backstroke event while Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj will take part in the 200m butterfly and 100m backstroke races respectively after both breached the Olympic A mark at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome last month.
5 / 8
'It's an amazing feeling. I have heard about the Olympics from fellow swimmers and watched it on the television and seen a lot of pictures,' the Gujarati swimmer told Olympics.com.
6 / 8
'But to be there this time, competing with the best in the world, just gives me goosebumps,' she added.
7 / 8
The 21-year-old sustained an ankle injury in 2019 and only made a comeback earlier this year.
8 / 8
'It was a tough year to come back after the injury,' Maana admitted. 'Though the pandemic and the lockdown was a blessing in disguise as it helped me recuperate well, but then later the frustration crept in. I am not used to staying away from the water for this long,' she said.
Tags: Maana Patel
Open in App

Related Stories

Other SportsNational Swimming Championships: Olympian Manna Patel breaks record in women's 100 m backstroke event

Other SportsMy goal is to qualify for Asian Games with faster time in qualifiers: Tokyo Olympian Maana Patel

CricketNational Games: Gujarat cross their best medal haul ever with their tenth gold

Other SportsNational Games round-up: UP's Ram Baboo sets National Record even as nine Games marks tumble

Other SportsMaana Patel wins six medals at the 75th senior national aquatic championships

Other Sports Realted Stories

Other SportsGlasner hails how Palace 'stuck to the plan' to reach FA Cup Final

Other SportsBrazil World Cup winner Jair da Costa dies at 84

Other SportsKounde leaves it late to win Copa del Rey for Barca after 3-2 thriller

Other SportsPalace beat Villa 3-0 to enter FA Cup final

Other SportsRepresents sportive generation: Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara on high participation in TCS World 10K Bengaluru