Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj Graces Aquatic Nationals at the Kalinga Stadium

Bhubaneswar, 11th August 2024 – Minister Sports & Youth Services, Odisha, Sri Suryabanshi Suraj graced the closing ceremony of the 40th Sub-Junior and 50th Junior Aquatic Championship today at Kalinga Stadium and presented the  trophy to  Team Karnataka who were the overall champions. He extended his congratulations to all the winners and participants for their remarkable efforts and achievements throughout the event. 11 new records were set at this event.
Rising stars of Odisha, Swimmers Shreyasi Das bagged silver in 100 m backstroke while Mannata Mishra secured gold in 100 m breast stroke and bronze in 200 m breast stroke. This would be the first gold medal that Odisha has won in National Aquatic Championship.

Principal Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department, Bhaskar Sarma, Secretary General, Swimming Federation of India (SFI), Monal Choksi, members of The State Swimming Association, and officials of the Sports & Youth Services Department were also part of this ceremony.

This is the third consecutive time Odisha is hosting the Sub- Junior and Junior national championship. Sports Minister expressed his delight on the successful hosting of this edition and thanked both SFI and The State Swimming Association for partnering with Odisha.
Talking about the vision of the state to promote swimming he said, “Odisha’s vision is to cultivate world-class swimmers who will shine at the Olympics, bringing global recognition to both the state and the nation. We are committed to developing world-class infrastructure to support and nurture our athletes and we will work closely with SFI and State Association to ensure we take India Swimming to great height.”

He apprised the Swimming fraternity gathered at the Aquatic Centre that Odisha Government is constructing an Indoor Diving Pool within the Kalinga Stadium and another Indoor Swimming Pool complex with Olympic size pool and semi Olympic size Pool capable for hosting events in the city. Additionally, Odisha will have 20 pools in the state dedicated to grassroots coaching that will benefit thousands of swimmers.

In the Team Championships, Karnataka dominated, securing the first position in both the Boys’ and Girls’ categories with 149 and 199 points, respectively. Maharashtra followed in second place for the Girls with 151 points, and Karnataka also took second place for the Boys with 148 points. The third positions in both categories were also held by Karnataka, with 57 points in the Boys’ and 99 points in the Girls’ category. Overall, Karnataka emerged as the champion of the swimming events with a total of 799 points.

The event witnessed remarkable performances across various categories. In the Best Swimmer (Boys) category, Rishabh Anupam Das from Maharashtra clinched the top spot with 4 Gold and 1 Silver medal, followed closely by M. S. Nitheesh from Tamil Nadu with 4 Gold and 1  Silver, and Koijam Athobia Singh from Manipur with 4 Gold.
In the Best Swimmer (Girls) category, Prarishtha B Dangi from Maharashtra emerged victorious with 3 Gold and 1 Bronze medal, while Dhinidhi Desinghu from Karnataka claimed 5 Gold and Serena Saroha from Haryana secured 3 Gold and 2 Silver.
11 new records were set at this event.
ENDS