In the last 12 months, Srihari has shown remarkable improvement in the 100m and 200m backstroke event, where he has slashed his timing from 56.71 seconds (100m) and 2:02.97 (200m) seconds clocked last year to an impressive 54.69 and 2:02.08 seconds, respectively, which he clocked in the FINA Junior World Championships held between August 20 and 25 in Budapest.
His effort in 100m backstroke has enabled him to achieve the B qualification mark for Tokyo Olympics and he is only a mere 0.80 seconds behind the A qualification time.
He further improved his timing in 50m backstroke and made it to the final of the event in Budapest. Though he improved the national record in all three events, Srihari was not satisfied about his effort.
"I thought I could swim faster in 100m backstroke and make the A qualification time which guarantees my participation in Tokyo Olympics. Though I am a little disappointed, my swim in Budapest certainly gave me the confidence to achieve my target in the coming months," said Srihari, who arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday night.
Srihari emphasised that with good nutrition support and some fine tuning in his flip turns, he can make the A qualification mark.
"I need to focus a little bit more on my diet, nutrition and recovery where I believe Fast&Up will play a big role. I am delighted to have their support in my Olympic quest. I need to work on my start and turns, be slightly more quicker.
With the 10th Asian Age Group Championships happening in Bengaluru, I stand a real good chance to further improve my time. I am pretty confident that I can clock the A qualification time in 100m and 200m backstroke. In the next four weeks I will be racing at the senior nationals followed by the Asian Age Group Championships in front of my home crowd in Bengaluru, so I am eagerly looking forward to it," he said.
Fast&Up recently announced the signing of athlete Govindan Lakshmanan and it is in partnership with over 100 sportspersons, including cricketer Mayank Agarwal, paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and footballer Iain Hume.
( With inputs from IANS )