India's Maana Patel on Friday became the first female and only the third swimmer from the country to punch her Tokyo Olympics 2021 ticket. Patel, a backstroke simmer from Ahmedabad, joins Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash to have qualified for the event and secured a direct entry. The development was confirmed by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.
"Backstroke swimmer Maana Patel has become the 1st female and 3rd Indian swimmer to qualify for #Tokyo2020. I congratulate Maana, who qualified through Universality Quota. Well done!!," he tweeted.Patel, 21, is a decorated athlete having won gold medals in 50 backstroke and 200 metre backstroke also at the National Games. She also clinched gold in 100 metre backstroke at the 60th National School Games (2015) breaking the national record in backstroke.
In 2015, Patel was selected for the Olympic Gold Quest, marking the first time a swimmer was roped in. Three years later in 2018, Patel secured three gold medals at 72nd Senior National Aquatic Championships. At the Senior Nationals in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018, Patel swept all three backstroke events.
