CWG 2022: Srihari Natraj qualifies for final of men's 100 m backstroke

Indian swimmer Srihari Natraj qualified for the final of the men's 100 m backstroke event on Friday.

Natraj reached the finals by clocking 54.55s at his event. He finished at 4th in the semi-final 2 and seventh overall in semi-finals to seal his position in the final where he will be battling it out for a medal against the likes of Pieter Coetze (South Africa), Brodie Paul Williams (England), Andrew Jeffcoat (New Zealand), Bradley Woodward (Australia) among others.

"#Swimming Update @srihari3529 qualifies for the FINAL!! Srihari finishes 4th in Semifinal 2 of Men's 100m backstroke and 7th overall with a timing of 54.55s at @birminghamcg22The Final is scheduled for 31st July 1:35 AM IST Our best wishes #Cheer4India #IndiaTaiyaarHai," tweeted SAI Media.

Indian para-swimmer finished at the 8th position in the finals of men's 100 m backstroke S9 final and failed to land up a podium position. He clocked 1:18.21 in the finals.

Nataraj had qualified for the men's 100m backstroke swimming semifinal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Friday. Nataraj finished third in heat 4 with a timing of 54.68s.

While Sajan Prakash was eliminated in the men's 50m butterfly event as he finished eighth with a time of 25.01s. In Men's 400m Freestyle heats, Kushagra Rawat finished at the bottom at 14th position with a clocking of 3:57.45 and was eliminated.

Coming to Swimming action for Saturday, Srihari Natraj will compete in the final of the men's 100 m backstroke event.

Commonwealth Games 2022 started in Birmingham from July 28 and will conclude on August 8.

India will be represented by 215 athletes who will take part in 141 events across 19 sporting disciplines.