Odisha Swimmers Make a Big Splash at Thailand Age Group Swimming Championship 2023

Young swimmers from Odisha dazzled at the just lately held Thailand Age Group Swimming Championship 2023 by successful six medals in complete. The occasion which was held at the Aquatic Centre, Assumption University Suvarnabhumi Campus in Thailand, witnessed three swimmers from Odisha JSW Swimming High-Performance Centre – Pratyasa Ray, Shristy Upadhaya, and Pavan Gupta ending on the rostrum.

Odisha ace swimmer Pratyasa received two silver medals as she completed second in 50m Backstroke occasion through which she clocked a time of 31.73 seconds. The 20-year-old additionally completed second in 200m Backstroke, clocking a time of two:31.51 seconds.

Meanwhile, Shristy Upadhaya clinched three bronze medals as she completed third in 50m Butterfly occasion by clocking her private better of 29.09 secs, whereas in 100m Butterfly occasion, she recorder her private greatest time of 1:04.49 secs to complete third. Shristy additionally completed third 200m Butterfly occasion, clocking a time of two:32.37 secs.

Also, Pavan Gupta, employed with the Railways and trains at Odisha JSW Swimming HPC, bagged a gold medal by ending first in 50m Freestyle clocking a time of 23.24 seconds.

Notably, a contingent of round 30 younger swimmers travelled from India out of which 16 individuals have been from Odisha. Based out of the Odisha JSW Swimming High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium, the swimmers practice below Sandeep Sejwal, an Arjuna awardee and 13-time nationwide champion, who took to full-time teaching after retiring from aggressive swimming.

Speaking in regards to the expertise gained by the 16 children from Odisha, Sandeep Sejwal mentioned, “It was a new experience as before this we have only travelled with participants who had an exposure to international level. But this was the first time that I was travelling with a group where almost 90 percent of the participants were travelling out of Odisha for the very first time. So, it was a different but nice experience.”

Talking in regards to the Thailand Age Group Swimming Championship 2023, which was a world publicity competitors and witnessed the participation of younger swimmers from numerous nations, Sejwal mentioned, “It was part of the training plan because Senior Nationals and Junior Nationals are coming up later this year and ahead of it, we wanted to give exposure to our swimmers so that they can feel the pressure of a competition. I am happy it worked out well with all of them improving their timing.”

Meanwhile, Sejwal additionally praised Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha and JSW Sports who collaborated in 2021 to arrange a High Performance Centre in swimming and launched a complete Grassroot Program with an goal to develop a strong tradition for swimming and produce world-class swimmers from the state.

“Our whole trip to Thailand was sponsored by Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), which is a JSW entity. Also, from time to time when we have to travel and participate locally, Sports and Youth Services Department has always given us 100 percent support and made all the required arrangements. Moreover, the infrastructure they are providing for training at the HPC and at different districts of Odisha are top notch,” Sejwal mentioned.

Sandeep Sejwal additional revealed that for the reason that starting of the Grassroot Program by Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha and JSW, greater than 100 proficient swimmers have been scouted for the aggressive group of the state and this time, he’s hopeful of Odisha successful medals in Senior and Junior nationals.

“These kids are really hard working and want to achieve something. Last year, we managed to put four of them into top eight of National Championships, so, hopefully this time there will be more participants from Odisha who are motivated by last year’s performances and can achieve medals in the Senior Nationals and Junior Nationals this year,”Sejwal mentioned.

Read all of the Latest Sports News, Check Out Orange Cap and Purple Cap holder particulars right here