Srihari Nataraj Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Indian Professional Swimmer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 187 cm in meters- 1.87 m in feet & inches- 6’ 1”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 80 kg in pounds- 176 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Swimming
International Debut	Asian Age Group Swimming Championships 2015
Coach/Mentor	• AC Jayarajan • Nihar Ameen
Strokes	Backstroke, Freestyle
Club	India
Event(s)	• Freestyle: 50m, 100m, 200m • Backstroke: 50m, 100m, 200m • Medley Relay: 4x 100m
Medals	Gold • 100M Backstroke at 2016 South Asian Aquatic Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka • 200M Backstroke at 2016 South Asian Aquatic Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka • 4x 100M Medley Relay at 2016 South Asian Aquatic Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka • 50m Backstroke at 2017 National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India • 100m Backstroke at 2017 National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India • 200m Backstroke at 2017 National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India • 200m Freestyle at 2017 National Junior Aquatic Championships, Pune, India • 50m Freestyle at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 200m Freestyle at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 50m Backstroke at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 100m Backstroke at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 200m Backstroke at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 4x100m Medley Relay at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 4x100 Freestyle at 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, Pune, India • 100m Backstroke at 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships, Bhopal, India • 200m Backstroke at 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships, Bhopal, India • 50m Backstroke at 2021 Uzbekistan Open Aquatic Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan • 100m Backstroke at 2021 Uzbekistan Open Aquatic Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Silver • 50M Backstroke at 2016 South Asian Aquatic Championships,Colombo, Sri Lanka
Records (main ones)	• National Record in the men’s 100 meter backstroke at Sette Colli Trophy Meet, Rome, 2021 • First Indian to reach the finals of the 2018 Youth Olympics
Awards, Honours, Achievements	Ekalavya Award 2020
Personal Life
Date of Birth	16 January 2001 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2021)	20 Years
Birthplace	Bangalore, Karnataka
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Bangalore, Karnataka
School	• Delhi Public School, Bangalore • Jain Heritage School, Bangalore
College/University	Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore
Hobbies	Travelling, Watching movies
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Girlfriend	Not Known
Family
Wife/Spouse	N/A
Parents	Father- Nataraj Venkataraman Mother- Kalyani
Siblings	Brother- Balaji Nataraj
Favourite Things
Swimmer	Michael Phelps
Athlete	Milkha Singh
Cuisine	Indian
Rock Band	Linkin Park

Some Lesser Known Facts About Srihari Nataraj

• Srihari Nataraj is an Indian competition swimmer specialised in backstroke style swimming. He is the youngest Indian swimmer to qualify for the FINA “A” standard qualification time in the men’s 100m backstroke time trial. He holds several records to his name, and he is considered among the most successful swimmers in India.

• Srihari Nataraj started practising swimming at the age of 2. He belongs to a family of cricketers and swimmers. His brother is a swimmer, three of his paternal uncles have played Ranji matches, and one of his cousins has played along with the Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid. Initially, he also wanted to pursue his career in cricket.

• Srihari Nataraj first participated in the swimming competition when he was just five years old. Srihari explains his first race as
  

  My first race was when I was 5 Years old. I was swimming for two events. It was a very memorable race because it was one of the races which kindled my career in swimming. That is the reason I’m a swimmer now. Being the youngest swimmer and winning two golds was very motivating and exciting!”

• Srihari Nataraj used to practise freestyle in the initial phase of his career, but on his mentor’s recommendation, he started practising the backstroke at the age of ten and won his first gold medal with this technique.

• Srihari Nataraj made his international debut with the 2015 Asian Age Group Swimming Championships, where he acquired the 8th position in 200m Medley and 6th in 100m Backstroke.

• In 2017, Srihari Nataraj won his first gold medal at the National Junior Aquatic Championships, marking 57.33 seconds in 100m Backstroke event. Thereafter, he participated in many national and international swimming events, collecting several gold and silver medals.

• Srihari Nataraj marked his first national record in 2017 at the National Junior Aquatic Championships in Pune. He participated in 100m Backstroke, 50m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, and 200m Freestyle, and he ended up winning the gold medal in each category.

• Srihari Nataraj has represented India at the 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Commonwealth Games, and 2019 World Aquatics Championships.

• Khelo India Youth Games 2019 is one of the highlights of Srihari’s career when he bagged a total of 7 gold medals throughout the championship.
  

  Srihari Nataraj medals from Khelo India Youth Games 2019

• Srihari Nataraj’s father was not convinced about sending him to further World Championships anymore as they had to spend a lot of money for these championships. Srihari’s mother, in an interview, said,
  

  When his dad heard that we had to spend so much for the World Championships, he said, ‘You need not go. If you have to go to the worlds spending money, what value do your achievements have?”

  She further added,

  We have spent nearly INR 8 lakh for Srihari’s two World Championships within the last one month or so, the senior worlds in Gwangju in July and the junior in Budapest, which ended a few days ago. We spend INR 70,000-80,000 every month for his swimming and have spent nearly INR 30 lakh for his sport over the last few years.”

• On 1 July 2021, Srihari Nataraj qualified for the FINA “A” standard qualification time in the men’s 100m backstroke time trial at the Settecolli Swim Meet in Rome, Italy and became the youngest Indian male swimmer to directly qualify for the Olympics. Srihari will represent India in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Appreciating this win, Indian sports minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Srihari on this achievement through a tweet.

Indian Sports Minister’s tweet congratulating Srihari Nataraj on qualifying the FINA’A’ ranking

• Srihari Nataraj follows a ritual before and after completing every match. Srihari talked about this ritual in an interview. He said,
  

  Pre-Match – I pray before starting the race and listen to music from the time I leave to the race venue until I start the race. Post-Match – I thank God as soon as the race ends, I meet my coach immediately when I am out of the water.”

• In November 2020, Srihari Nataraj was awarded the Ekalavya Award by the Karnataka government for his excellent achievements in swimming.
  

  Srihari Nataraj the Ekalavya Award

• Srihari Nataraj runs a YouTube channel named “Srihari Nataraj,” where he shares videos of his swimming events.

• Srihari likes playing Jenga in his leisure time.
  

  Srihari Nataraj playing Jenga

• Srihari Nataraj is an animal lover, and he is often spotted cuddling with dogs.
  

  Srihari Nataraj holding a pug dog

• Srihari is sponsored by PumaIndia, FastandUpIndia, and Merakiconnect for his swimming events. He is often seen promoting these brands on his social media account.
  

  Srihari Nataraj promoting Puma India on his Instagram account

• His favourite quote is –
  

  I am not always right but I am never wrong.”^[1]Facebook-Srihari Natara