Deccan Express | Sajan Prakash became the first Indian swimmer ever to qualify for Olympics by achieving A qualification mark when he clocked 1 minute 56.38 seconds in the men’s 200 metres butterfly event at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome on Saturday.
Sajan Prakash’s time is better than the Olympic A qualification mark of 1 minute 56.48 seconds.
Six Indian swimmers had achieved the B qualification in the 2019-2020 Olympic qualification period. B qualification is wild card entry while A qualification is an automatic berth.
While many Indian swimmers have competed at the Olympics before, no one qualified directly by cracking the A qualification mark.
Apart from Sajan Prakash, so far athletes from around 15 disciplines have qualified for the Olympics.
Recently, Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports launched the official theme song of the Indian Olympic Team of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on the occasion of Olympic Day in New Delhi.
Rijiju said, “It is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the entire nation must come together to support and motivate Indian athletes going to Tokyo Olympics. The launch of the official Theme Song today is a step in that direction. The high-energy song composed and sung by Mohit Chauhan encapsulates the spirit of every athlete’s dream to bring glory to the country at the highest podium. The Sports Ministry has launched a nationwide #Cheer4India campaign through various activities like quizzes, selfie points, debates, and discussions on the Olympics. I urge every Indian to come forward and join in this movement to cheer for India’s top athletes as they put their best to bring glory to India”.
Delivering a vote of thanks at the launch ceremony, IOA Secretary-General, Rajeev Mehta said, “The Theme Song is quite motivating and I hope it will bring a great deal of enthusiasm and energy for athletes to do well at the Games. On behalf of IOA, he thanked Mohit Chauhan for composing the awe-inspiring Theme Song for the Indian Contingent, who is set to represent the country at the Tokyo Olympics.”
Also Read: Now Make group video call on Telegram