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Patel becomes India's 1st female swimmer at Olympics

"I'm very, very thrilled. I'm honored and humbled to represent my country at the Olympics this year.''

This is India's first female swimmer to qualify for Tokyo 2020

Maana Patel secured her spot via governing body FINA's universality quota

The quota allows one female and one male from each country to compete

provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies through the normal process

The 21-year-old will race in the women's 100m backstroke event

"When I was 13 years old, I got the Indian Best Time in 150 and 250 metres backstroke and then from then, there was no looking back. I believe this just the beginning for me and there's a long, long way to go. Many more medals to win for India."