Chennai, July 19 (IANS) Olympian Sebastian Xavier was one of the prominent faces of Indian swimming in the late eighties and early nineties and has to his credit 75 gold at the national level and 40 top finishes at the international level. An Olympian who competed in 1996 Atlanta and three consecutive Asian Games from 1990 onwards, Xavier is currently a senior sports officer with the Indian Railways.

He spoke exclusively to IANS on the prospects of Indian swimmers at the Tokyo Olympics.

Excerpts:

IANS: India is pinning its hopes on Sajan Prakash in Tokyo. How do you rate his chances?

S Xavier: Sajan Prakash, Srihari Nataraj and Maana Patel are the three who have qualified in swimming for the Olympics. Sajan Prakash is the first-ever Indian swimmer to make the Olympic 'A' cut and Srihari Nataraj followed suit. This in itself is a major achievement and this shows that Indian swimming is on a fast-forward course. These swimmers if they reach the finals will be a major breakthrough as far as Indian swimming is concerned. Several youngsters will blossom as swimmers if these three perform exceedingly well in Tokyo. I am expecting a major breakthrough from Sajan and Srihari.

IANS: How has Covid-19 affected the preparations of swimmers?

S Xavier: Covid-19 has created major problems for all sports across the globe. Even the Olympics were postponed by a year. However, I must say that the sport most affected due to the Covid is swimming as swimmers had several restrictions to train, affecting their performance. However, our swimmers have overcome these difficulties.

IANS: You represented the country in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Please share your memories?

S Xavier: Atlanta was amazing. I met many legends on and off the field. Several greats and world-renowned athletes, swimmers, and sportspersons were there. Meeting Alexander Popov of Russia, considered the greatest swimmer in 50m and 100m, was my most cherished moment. He had won gold in both the categories in the 1992 Olympics and defended the title in Atlanta where I was also present. Popov held the world record in the 50m for eight years and 100m for six years.

IANS: How do you rate the standard of swimming during your days and the present time?

S Xavier: During my time, Asians were the world record holders. Hence we could not get anything from even the Asian Games but now we are competing with them and can take on them. This is a clear indicator that swimming as a sport is coming of age in India.

IANS: While China and Japan have excellent swimmers or rather world-class swimmers, why are our swimmers lagging?

S Xavier: We are 25 years behind these countries in all aspects like infrastructure, training and other facilities but are slowly but surely catching up. This is a good sign but winning is very important and for that, we need better infrastructure and training. However, I think we are now battle-ready.

IANS: Are there ample domestic swimming competitions in India to scout for new talent?

S Xavier: Yes, lots of tournaments are taking place in the country and new blood is coming up. We will have to see how many will perform at the highest level and to stay on top. There should be a lot of mental and physical conditioning for that as international competitions are on a different level.

IANS: Please tell us about the future of Indian swimming

S Xavier: As I said earlier, Indian swimming is coming of age and with a lot of domestic competitions, and tournaments, several young talent is coming up. I must say that there has to be sustained and regular training to achieve success at the top. More swimmers like Sajan Prakash and Srihari Natarajan should come from this country as world-beaters and I expect that in the years to come.

--IANS

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