Hyderabad swimmer Suhas makes a splash in Junior National Aquatic Championships

Hyderabad: Hyderabad swimmer M Suhas Preetham made his mark in the ongoing 48th Junior National Aquatic Championships held at the Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

The 14-year-old clinched gold by rewriting the national record in the 100m backstroke event for Group 2 Boys which was set by Sahil Laskar 1.01.45 sec in 2018 with a timing of 1.01.29 sec. He also won a silver and bronze in the 50m backstroke and 4x100m team relay.

The young swimmer was over the moon after his achievement and said he was excited with the new record. “I am pretty happy about setting a new national record. I have been working hard to give my best and I did it.”

Speaking about his interest in swimming, the ninth standard student of Silver Oak International School said, “My grandfather used to take me swimming in the Penna river in our native in Nellore. I started liking it from then and I took up the game seriously.”

Having picked up swimming merely three years ago, Suhas has already managed to make a name for himself in a short time. He also bagged four medals which include gold, silver and two bronze in the 47th Junior National Aquatic Championships held in Bengaluru.

“I have been training under John Siddiqui sir for the last three years. I have improved a lot in my timing and became stronger both mentally and physically. I want to participate in the Asian Games which is my next target and my coach is training me and we are focused on it,” revealed the backstroke swimmer when asked about his future plans.

“My ultimate aim is to represent Indian in the Olympics and make the country proud by bringing laurels,” said the youngster who admires Italian backstroke swimmer Thomas Ceccon.

John Siddiqui, head coach at Zion Sports Academy, is glad about Suhas’s achievement and said, “I am delighted for Suhas’ achievement. We have trained for records not for medals in this competition. He is always good in his practice and his school also supports him. He always wanted to beat the best and takes up the challenge. Now he proved that he can achieve big things,” he added.

“Our students are performing well in the national level tournaments. They will take Telangana to top in swimming,” he concluded.