The proverb, Where there’s a will there’s a way is so true for Sajan Prakash

Where there’s a will there’s a way’ – the proverb is really apt for India’s top swimmer Sajan Prakash. He first defeated a career-threatening neck injury, then stayed away from the pool for eight months due to COVID-19, and then staged a remarkable comeback to qualify for his second Olympic appearance at the Tokyo Games.

The 27-year-old from Kerala clocked 1:56:38 seconds in the men’s 200m butterfly event in Rome to become the first-ever Indian swimmer to earn a direct Olympic qualification to the Olympics by breaching the Olympic qualifying time (OQT). With this he also broke his own national record. “I am so happy that I will be representing my country once again. At the end of the day when your hardships, determination, and efforts pay off, it feels really good,” Sajan told.

Sajan, who is posted as an inspector in Kerala Police, suffered a neck injury in 2019, which also affected his left shoulder. He was advised not to hit the pool. When he recovered, the lockdown in March affected his daily practice. For almost eight months, he didn’t swim.

Just when Sajan began treatment for his neck injury, which he suffered during the World Championships in Gwangju in July 2019, his scans revealed a slip disc on his neck’s C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae.

Sajan was down but not out, thanks to his coach S Pradeep Kumar.

“I was in so much pain. I wanted to get rid of that, but it was just increasing day by day. I went for rehab and physiotherapy where I was treated properly. My physiotherapists Gautham Sridhar and Prachi Shah worked a lot on me and helped me recover from the injury. In March, I went to Thailand and that’s when the lockdown happened and I was stuck there for almost eight months. I couldn’t swim after that. Keeping the A qualification in mind, it was really tough, frustrating, and devastating for me,” Sajan further said.