Maana Patel: I will train hard and try to put up a good show

Maana Patel

Maana Patel, 21, on Friday became the third Indian swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. She booked her berth through Universality quota, according to the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).

Patel will take part in the 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Games. Recently, Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj made the 'A' qualification cut for the Olympics.
According to a PTI report, the Universality quota allows one male and one female competitor from a country to participate in the Olympics, provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies for the Games or receives a FINA invite based on Olympic Selection time (B time).

Maiden entry

Patel though is keeping her excitement in check as she prepares to participate in her maiden Olympics. "My aim was to earn a direct entry by making the 'A' cut. This time I couldn't achieve it, but I will aim to do it next time. The atmosphere at the Games would be quite different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This being my first outing, I'm very keen to see how I perform there. I will train hard and try to put up a good show," Ahmedabad-based Patel, who has been training in Bangalore since February under Dronacharya award-winning coach Nihar Ameen, told mid-day.

From 2017 to 2020, Patel trained at Mumbai's Glenmark Aquatic Foundation under coach Peter Carswell. Patel said Indian swimmers were most affected during the Coronavirus-forced lockdown last year. "Since the pools were shut for some months, a lot of them weren't maintained properly. Hence, even after they opened up, my training was quite sporadic. From February onwards I got to train properly after joining the national camp in Bangalore. Then came the second wave this year, again disturbing my practice," she lamented.

Lockdowns hurt

Patel said it was difficult to train without entering the swimming pool during lockdowns. "Initially, it was very difficult to manage [being indoors] because we didn't know of an alternate method. Later, I started workouts at home to keep up with my fitness. However, I got bored after a few months. I continued training to ensure I don't gain weight in that period," said Patel, who took to swimming in 2008 after her mother Aanal enrolled her for a summer camp to improve her appetite.