Ahmedabad, Sep 27 (IANS) A total of 40 swimmers, including 20 men and 20 women, will represent India in the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships starting on Sunday at the newly-built state-of-the-art Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura, Ahmedabad.

The Indian contingent has been based in Naranpura over the past month for the national coaching camp and is all geared up to compete against the crème-de-le-crème of the Asian continent. Over 1,100 swimmers, coaches, and technical officials have arrived from 29 countries for the marquee event in the Asian Aquatics calendar, which will serve as a qualifying event for the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya, Japan, next year.

Leading India’s campaign would be two-time Olympians Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj, while Dhinidhi Desinghu and Bhavya Sachdeva will be India’s top hopes in the women’s category.

Optimistic about India’s chances in the event, which is historically dominated by the Chinese swimmers, India Head Coach Nihar Ameen said, “We had very good preparations with the entire contingent training together here at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex. It is a fantastic facility, and it’s a very fast pool, so I am quite confident our swimmers will do well here.”

He further touted Sajan, Srihari, and Rohit B. Benedicton to win medals in their respective events. Ameen said, “We should win at least 3-4 medals. If Sajan swims as fast as he did in the 200m butterfly in the Senior Nationals, he is sure to win a medal, and the same goes with Srihari, who will be swimming 100m and 200m backstroke. Rohit also stands a chance to win a medal in the 200m freestyle. In all, we will witness some very exciting races. Among the women, Dhinidhi, Bhavya, Nina Venkatesh, and Soubrity Mondal are all clocking good times. We will have relay teams as well in the women’s categories, and we are optimistic of a good show.”

A total of 10 teams in the men’s category and eight in the women’s category will take part in the water polo competition, vying to book their berth for the Asian Games next year to be held in Nagoya, Japan. In diving, 16 countries will participate, while artistic swimming has entries from 10 countries, and swimming will have a total of 21 countries participating.

The opening ceremony, commencing at 5 PM on Sunday, will be graced by Chief Guest Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat along with Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Home, Youth & Sports, Government of Gujarat, Farid Fattahian, Executive Director, Asia Aquatics, R.N. Jayprakash, President, Swimming Federation of India, Virendra Nanavati, Sr. Vice President, Swimming Federation of India, Monal Choksi, Secretary General, Swimming Federation of India and Ashwini Kumar, Principal Secretary, Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Government of Gujarat.

For swimming enthusiasts across Gujarat and India, who are keen on watching the events live in the Veer Savarkar Stadium, entry is Free. They will need to log in to the www.11thaac2025.com website to avail the ticket QR code. This event will also be live on Doordarshan and streamed on the Asian Aquatics YouTube channel.

Indian swimming contingent:

Men: S. Dhanush, Shoan Ganguly, Jashua Thomas, Aneesh Gowda, Rohit B. Benedicton, Advait Page, Sajan Prakash, Bikram Changmai, Heer Gitesh Shah, M.S. Yadesh Babu, Vidith S. Shankar, Kushagra Rawat, Jananjoy Jyoti Hazarika, Akash Mani, Nithik Nathella, Manikantha L, Vinayak V, Likith S.P, Rishabh Anupam Das, Srihari Nataraj.

Women: Thanya S, Shristi Upadhaya, Vihitha Nayana, Nina Venkatesh, Manavi Varma, Vritti Agarwal, Roshini B, Dhinidhi Desinghu, Bhavya Sachdeva, Astha Chodhury, Shreenithi Natesan, Naisha, Aditi Satish Hegde, Saanvi Deshwal, Sanjana Prabhugaonkar, Rujula S, Soubrity Mondal, M. Rithvika, Avantika Chavan, Harshitha Jayaram.

–IANS

bsk/