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Likith Selvaraj Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

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Age: 25 Years
Hometown: Bengaluru
Religion: Hinduism

Bio/Wiki
Other name/Full name• Likith Selvaraj Prema
• Likith SP
ProfessionSwimmer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 178 cm
in meters- 1.78 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)in kilograms- 80 kg
in pounds- 176 lbs
Body Measurements (approx.)- Chest: 44 Inches
- Waist: 30 Inches
- Biceps: 15 Inches
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Cricket
Domestic/State Team• Karnataka
• Services (Indian Navy)
• India
Coach/Mentor• Graham Hill (In 2016)
• Parth Varanashi (Since Januray 2019)
Swimming StyleBreaststroke
MedalsGold

• 2011: 50 and 200-meter breaststroke at 25th South Zone Aquatics Championship

• 2012: 200-meter individual medley of the 39th Junior National Aquatic Championships

• 2013: 100-meter breaststroke at the State Sub-junior and Junior Aquatics Championships

• 2014: 50 and 200-meter breaststroke at State Senior Aquatic Championship

• 2015: 50-meter breaststroke at the 41st Junior National Aquatic Championship

• 2015: 100, 200-meter breaststroke, and the 200-meter individual medley at the 42nd Junior National Aquatic Championship

• 2018: 4X 100-meter medley at the 72nd Senior National Aquatic Championship

• 2019: 50-meter freestyle, 50 and 100-meter breaststroke, 4x100-meter medley, and 4X100-meter freestyle at Khelo India Youth Games Under-21 age group

• 2019: 100-meter breaststroke at the 62nd Malaysia Open Swimming Championships

• 2019: 50, 100, 200-meter breaststroke and 4 X 100-meter individual medley at the 13th South Asian Games

• 2019: 200-meter breaststroke at the 73rd Senior National Aquatic Championships

• 2020: 200-meter breaststroke at Khelo India University Games

• 2022: 50, 100, 200-meter breaststroke, and 4 X 100-meter medley relay at the 75th Senior National Aquatic Championships

• 2022: 50, 100, 200-meter breaststroke, and 4 X 100-meter medley relay at the 36th National Games

• 2023: 50 and 100-meter breaststroke at 76th Senior National Aquatic Championships


Silver

• 2014: 200-meter medley at State Senior Aquatic Championship

• 2016: 200-meter breaststroke and 400-meter medley at the 70th Senior National Aquatic Championships

• 2021: 50 and 100-meter breaststroke at Uzbekistan Open Swimming Championships

Bronze

• 2012: 50 and 100-meter breaststroke at the World School Games

• 2016: 100-meter breaststroke at the South African National Level 3 Swimming Championship Under-18 category

• 2016: 200-meter medley at the 70th Senior National Aquatic Championships

• 2019: 50 and 100-meter breaststroke at the 10th Asian Age Group Championships

• 2019: 200-meter breaststroke at Khelo India Youth Games Under-21 age group
Award2022: Eklavya Award by the Karnataka Government
Personal Life
Date of Birth14 August 2024 (Friday)
Age (as of 2023)25 Years
BirthplaceBengaluru, Karnataka, India
Zodiac signLeo
NationalityIndian
HometownBengaluru
SchoolGlenwood High School, Durban
College/University• JAIN Deemed-to-be University
• University of Indianapolis
Educational Qualifications• Bachelor of Arts (BA) (JAIN Deemed-to-be University, completed in 2020)
• Master of Science (MSc) in Strategic leadership and design (University of Indianapolis, from August 2021 to June 2023) [1]Facebook - Likith SP
ReligionHinduism
Food HabitVegan [2]Facebook - Likith SP
Controversies2019 All India Inter University Games Protest [3]The New Indian Express

All India Inter University Games were held at the Lovely Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar, Punjab from 1 to 4 November 2024 in which manual clocks were being used to record time instead of the automatic touchpads. Likith alleged during the competition that the officials were rigging the time and decaled many local athletes as winners in different games. He was joined by other athletes from different states who has also raised same suspicions and alleged cheating. Before a race, Likith protested by holding a board in his hand which read,

"I would prefer even to fail with honour than win by cheating. Let’s all swim fair, say no to cheating." [4]The Indian Express

Kiren Rijiju, then-minister of state (MoS) (independent charge) youth affairs and sports, announced an probe into the competition following these allegations.

Cheating at Uzbekistan Open Swimming Championships

Uzbekistan Open Swimming Championships were held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 13 to 17 April 2024 in which Likith participated in the 100-meter freestyle heats and 100-meter butterfly races. After those races, Likith alleged that since the event was a 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualification event, the officials manipulated the timings in favour of local athletes. He also did not dive into the pool during the 200-meter breaststroke race and protested by standing on the diving block. He talked about the protest and said,

"I touched the pad and stopped my own time and asked the officials if it was the new world record to show them that what they were doing was wrong." [5]Sportstar

Likith said that he was also offered money by the officials to withdraw his protest. He said that he suffered mental health problems as many people labelled him a liar; however, he was supported by his family, his friends, and Uzbek swimmers Murat Sagdullaev and Yulduz Kuchkarova.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) conducted an investigation into Likith's allegations and removed the event from Olympic qualification event after founding them to be true. The organizers of the event were also banned for 5 years by FINA in August 2023. Likith expressed happiness about the suspension and said,

"It is a vindication, a win for athletes, and a first step to clean up the system, because I’m sure many such illegal practices happen elsewhere too. When I look back, I never regretted what I did even if many were against me and said I didn’t have to be impulsive." [6]The Indian Express
Relationships & More
Marital StatusUnmarried
Affairs/GirlfriendsHe is single.
Family
Wife/SpouseN/A
ParentsMother- Prema Mn
SiblingsSister- Charu
Favourites
TeamFC Barcelona
Sports FilmRocky
Indian AthleteMilkha Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Likith Selvaraj

  • Likith Selvaraj is an Indian swimmer who specializes in the breaststroke style of swimming and has won many medals in national and international competitions.
  • When he was 5 years old, he started swimming and later competed in junior-level swimming championships. He has trained at the Sports Federation of India’s (SFI) camp in 2017, Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre (BAC), and later at Nettakallappa Aquatic Center (NAC).

    A childhood picture of Likith Selvaraj (left)

    Likith Selvaraj (right) during his teenage

  • He competed in the USA’s NCAA Division 2 while studying in the USA. He also competed in several prestigious competitions including finishing 7th in the 100-meter breaststroke final in the 19th Asian Games in 2023.

    Likith Selvaraj during an international competition

  • Likith talked about his training regimen in an interview and said that he does swimming practice for 4 hours every day, 5 days a week. He emphasised that since breaststroke swimming puts a lot of strain on hips and knees, he does different types of adventure activities like surfing, slacklining, yoga, skateboarding, and acro-yoga for increased flexibility and agility.

    Likith Selvaraj doing underwater swimming

  • JSW started sponsoring him in 2016 under their Sports Excellence Program (SEP) and provided him with training and money for diets and other swimming accessories. [7]JSW Later, the GoSports Foundation started sponsoring him under the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Program. [8]GoSports Foundation
  • He auctioned off his short ‘FINA World Championship Carbon Flex VX’ during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in July 2020 to help the families of the staff of the swimming community; he wore it during the World Championship 2019 held at Gwangju, South Korea. [9]Instagram - GoSports Foundation

    Likith Selvaraj showing his ‘FINA World Championship Carbon Flex VX’ short which he auctioned to help sports staff during the initial Covid-19 lockdown

    Likith Selvaraj during the 2019 World Championship held in Gwangju

  • Likith revealed in an interview that he takes inspiration to work hard from his father, and he is motivated to do good by seeing his father.
  • While growing up, he was a non-vegetarian. He became a vegetarian in 2019 and later became a vegan. [10]Facebook - Likith SP
  • He is an AUST SWIM certified swimming trainer. [11]UrbanPro

    Likith Selvaraj during a swimming training session

  • Likith loves animals and has also stayed in the Amazon jungle with the noted American conservationist Paul Rosolie.

    Likith Selvaraj during a visit to a jungle

  • He trains in different adventure sports and wants to become a poly sport athlete.

    Likith Selvaraj doing a handstand on a skateboard

References/Sources:[+]