CHENNAI: Apart from the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships that will be held in Bengaluru in September this year, Swimming Federation of India’s (SFI) annual general body meeting that was held in the city on Friday also announced the dates for this year’s Junior National Aquatic Championships.
Newly-elected president RN Jayaprakash said that the venue and dates for the senior nationals will be confirmed in the coming weeks. “We haven’t finalised the senior national calendar yet. The junior nationals will be held in Rajkot from June 26-30. We are planning to hold the senior nationals in October or November, in either Bhopal or Pune.”
The junior nationals in Rajkot will also serve as qualifying tournament for the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships. More importantly, senior swimmers who wish to qualify for the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in July in Gwangju (South Korea) can also use the platform to seal their berths.
“The senior swimmers can also use this platform since the meet in Rajkot will be held under the watchful eyes of SFI,” he added.
Apart from national events, SFI is keen to identify a core group of swimmers (13-14 years) and make them train at their respective cities. Jayaprakash said that these swimmers will be given a manual to follow by a foreign coach initially, and also be assisted by a panel of Indian judges.
The history of swimming in India at international events has not been great so far and Jayaprakash feels that one reason for this is that most swimmers tend to quit the sport after a few years or after getting a job. The new office bearers of SFI are hopeful that their initiative will motivate youngsters to take up the sport professionally.
As far as seniors like Sajan Prakash and Virdhawal Khade are concerned, there won’t be any exposure trips before World Championships this year. “We have given them an option to go abroad. Sajan, for example, is training in Indonesia. But most of them wanted to stay in India. We have excellent facilities in our country. So it won’t be a problem.”
The decision to rope in a foreign coach also is also underway and Jayaprakash is hopeful that they will be able to do so with the support of their main sponsor Glenmark. “We want to be less dependent on the government. We will be able to fund it ourselves. We also want to ensure that the state championships happen on a regular basis.”