The Swimming Federation of India (SFI), in collaboration with the Odisha State Government, will hold the 39th Sub Junior and 49th Junior National Aquatic Championships 2023 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, beginning August 16th. Over 900 swimmers from 25 states, including the Services Sports Control Board, will take part in the five-day swimming extravaganza at the newly built state-of-the-art indoor Aquatic Centre inside the historic Kalinga Sports Complex.
The swim meet will serve as a qualifier for the upcoming Asian Age Group Championships, which will be held in the Philippines in December. The Asian Age Group Championships will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
This new Aquatic Centre is yet another feather in the cap for the Odisha State Government, which has hosted iconic world sporting events under the leadership of Hon. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an avid sports fan who believes that investing in sports is investing in youth, and investing in youth is investing in the future.
While the host state, Odisha State Swimming Association, will field a total of 32 swimmers, including 17 male and 15 female swimmers, with promising swimmers such as Divyanka Dibyajyoti Prdhan, Mannata Mishra, Anshuman Vashist in group I and Yatharth Dev Panda in group II vying for a podium finish, defending champions Karnataka will field a strong contingent of 74 swimmers, including 37 male and 37 female partners.
Swimmers to watch out for this edition include Ishan Mehera, Rishabh Das, Arnav Kadu, and Ronak Sawanth among the boys, and Palak Joshi, Riddhima Veerendra, Aashika Ramchandra, Dhinidhi Desingu, Prathiksha Dange, Raghvi Ramanujam, and Rujutha Rajagneya among the girls.