It was a personal best (PB) for him by two-lengths. The 800 came on the back of new meet records in 400m (3:52.55) and 1500m (15:29.76), where he went past Kushagra Rawat’s 15:38.13. And then just be a little stronger and faster to be quicker than that,” he says. “Replicating that race in a world-class facility, indoors and everything, swimming against people that are faster might just push me that extra 1 or 2 per cent and I’ll be able to get under 8. But the race Nehra executed at Hyderabad over the 800 to clock 8:01.81 was near perfect, even if the conditions were difficult – outdoor pool, warm humid climate and sunny. The 19-year-old from Ahmedabad is the latest sensation over the freestyle distance events – 800m and 1500m – where India boasts a good crop of swimmers, all pushing each other to better timings. But ideally, I get it at the world’s and build upon that heading into Asian Games.”
“If I don’t get it there, I’m fairly confident I should have it by Asian Games. “Hopefully, at the World Championships,” he says of achieving it at the Japanese port city of Fukuoka. On a record-breaking spree at the Nationals at Hyderabad this last fortnight, Aryan Nehra hopes to be the first Indian to dip under-8 minutes over 800 metres. Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element.
