Ponda swimmers win Inter-State Swimming Championships 2013

Ponda - Young swimmers from around Goa and Maharashtra made the most of the opportunity given to them, turning in sprightly performances at the recently concluded Inter-State Swimming Championships, 2013. The Speedo supported event, held at the Ponda Sports Complex on the 27th and 28th April saw around 300 swimmers in the age group of 8-17 vie for the top honours.

Swimming in front of an appreciative crowd, Samart More finished on top of the table in the boys U-8 category, while in the girls U-8 category Maria D’Souza from Mapusa club took the top honours. In the U-10 category, among the boys, Goa Swimming Association’s Zidane Syed displayed great form to emerge victorious in his category,while Nishtha Agarwal from Champions Club – Pune finished on top amongst the girls.

The U-12 category saw intense competition among the boys, but eventually Xavier D’Souza from Mapusa Goa emerged with the most number of medals. Among the girls Mitali Darda, from Champions Club – Pune, dominated her opponents while Joao Carlos Estrocio, from Panaji finished on top in the boys U-14 category, and Saachi Gramopadhye, from Ponda Swimmers, Goa topped the leader board among the girls in the same category.

Swimmers in the U-17 category also performed brilliantly; Yogeswar Prasad, from Ponda Swimmers, quelled tough competition to emerge on top while his counterpart from the club, Clarissa D’Souza, emerged victorious among the girls in the U-17 category in the two-day long competition held with support from Speedo and the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs Goa. With the home crowd supporting them, the Ponda Swimmers made the most of the home team advantage, winning the overall Championships beating other clubs from Goa, Pune, Nashik and Belgaum.

Enthused by the Goans’ response to the event, Ankur Sharma, Business Head, Speedo India, reiterated their commitment to further encourage the sport in India saying, “We are happy that an event in Goa has received such a strong response from the swimming community. It is exciting to see so many local swimmers performing so well, and we hope the exposure helps them. We hope that the event helps inspire more Goans to take up the sport.”