Sajan Prakash (born 14 September 1993) is an Indian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, butterfly and medley events. At the 2015 National Games in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, he set a record on 8 February 2015 by winning 6 gold and 3 Silver medals, and became the best athlete of the

Indian National Games The National Games of India consist of various disciplines in which athletes from the different states of India participate against each other. The country's first few Olympic Games, now renamed as National Games, were held in North India (De ...

, held at

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. He competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in the 200 meter butterfly event. He became the first ever Indian swimmer to breach the FINA "A" Olympic qualification time when he clocked an Indian national record time of 1:56.38 in the 200 m butterfly event at the 2021 Sette Colli Trophy in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. With this time he qualified for the 200 m butterfly event at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

. As of June 2021, he is the holder of 11 Indian national swimming records in events spanning freestyle, butterfly, medley and relay categories. Sajan is currently training with Aqua Nation Sports Academy (ANSA) based in Dubai.

Personal life

Sajan Prakash hails from Idukki district of Kerala. He was raised in Neyveli, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. His mother V.J.Shantymol is also a former athlete and has represented India in several national and international events. He started training at the Neyveli Lignite City Swimming Club,

Neyveli Neyveli is a industrial town in the Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located inland from the Bay of Bengal, west of Pondicherry and south of Chennai. The town was developed in 1956 after the establishment of Ne ...

, Tamil Nadu. He did his schooling in St. Paul's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, NLC Boys Higher Secondary School, Jawahar Higher Secondary School,

, Tamil Nadu. He completed his graduation in computer applications from Annamalai University,

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of s ...

. Now he joined in Kerala Police as an Officer Commanding . A pool was opened in Neyveli after his name .

Career

In the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Sajan Prakash makes history as he became the first Indian swimmer, where he breached the Olympic qualification by just 10 milliseconds in the 200m butterfly event. He won the gold medal in the men's 200m butterfly event at the FINA-accredited Olympic Qualifying event.

Olympics

Sajan finished at 28th position in the 200m butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sajan finished at 24th position in the 200m butterfly event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Sajan finished at 46th position in the 100m butterfly event at the 2020 Summer Olympics with a timing of 53:45secs .

Asian Games

At the

Asian Games 2018 The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August ...

, Prakash participated in 100m and 200m butterfly, Freestyle Relay, and Freestyle Relay. Prakash finished at 5th position in 200m Butterfly clocking timing of 1:57.75 and in the Freestyle relay, he finished at 8th position in the finals.

Commonwealth Games

Prakash finished 8th in the finals of the 200m butterfly event at the

Commonwealth Games 2018 The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

Achievements

*Won gold medal in 100m butterfly stroke and silver medal in 200m freestyle at 36th National Games held in Gujarat. * Won 6 gold medals and 3 silver medals at the 35th National Games, held in Kerala India and won the Best Athlete award of 2015. * Only Indian male swimmer to participate at the 2016 Rio Olympics. * Won a silver medal in the 100m butterfly category at the 2017 Asian Indoor Games, held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. * Holds 10 national, 3 South Asian and 1 Asian records in various categories. * First Indian swimmer to qualify for finals at the 2018 Asian Games in 200m Butterfly in 32 years. * First Indian swimmer to breach the FINA "A" Olympic qualification time. * First Indian Swimmer to qualify for two consecutive Olympics .

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prakash, Sajan 1993 births Living people Indian male swimmers Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of India Swimmers at the 2014 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2018 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Swimmers from Kerala People from Idukki district Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in swimming 20th-century Indian people 21st-century Indian people