Report - XXII-National Para Swimming Championships, 2022

XXII-National Para Swimming Championships, 2022

THE REPORT

THE CONDUCT AND PARTICIPATION:

The XXII-National Para Swimming Championships, 2022 for both Men & Women in all the three age groups (Sub-junior, Junior and Senior) were conducted by the Paralympic Committee of India at Dr. Zakir Hussain Aquatics Complex, Guwahati, Assam from November 11-13, 2022. The Championships were hosted by Paralympic Association of Assam in association with Udayachal and Sneha Bandhan under the technical guidance of Para Swimming Federation of India. A record total of 436 Para Swimmers (345 male and 91 female) from 24 different states/teams participated in the Championships. There were a total of 716 people including Team Coaches, Managers, Escorts, Parents, Technical Officials and PCI Officials to participate in the 3-day Championships. Entries were received from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, PCI Team, Rajasthan, Services Sports Control Board, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and West Bengal. One Swimmer from SAI, Gandhi Nagar (Khelo India Academy) and one Indian citizen who presently lives in Dubai, participated under the banner of PCI Team as these units are not directly affiliated to PCI. The Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony and Victory Ceremonies were conducted with great pomp and show.

WORLD PARA SWIM APPROVED CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The Championships had the approval and recognition from World Para Swimming (WPS) and were conducted strictly observing the WPS Competition Rules & Regulations. Automatic Officiating Equipment were used in Competition. The races were conducted on November 12-13, 2022. The performance of swimmers shall serve as a basis for their selection for the forthcoming International Para Swimming Championships & Asian Para Games. All Results, Rankings new National records shall be uploaded on PCI website. Performance of WPS classified and licensed swimmers for 2022 shall be uploaded for World and Asian Rankings by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on its Portal.

LODGING:

The lodging arrangements for the teams were made by the Paralympic Association of Assam at Tokyo Towers Hotel and at Upasana Hotel/Lodge. Outstation Technical Officials were lodged at Hotel Upasana Delux. It was be shared accommodation made available from 10th evening to 13th November, 2022. However, some teams arrived much earlier and departed late due to their trains’ availability.

BOARDING AND TRANSPORTATION:

Boarding arrangements were made at the swimming pool only. Buses were provided by the hosts to transport the teams and officials from Guwahati Railway Station to Hotels, from Hotels to Swimming pool and back. There were some low-floor buses also which were convenient for the wheel chair users.

CLASSIFICATION OF SWIMMERS:

Classification of Physically Impaired swimmers was done by Classification Committee on 11th November, 2022 consisting Dr. V.K. Dabas, Technical Classifier; Dr. Manish Rana, Medical Classifier and Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad, Paralympian & Arjuna Awardee.

THE OPENING CEREMONY:

The Opening Ceremony of the Championship was held on November 12, at 4.00pm. The Chief Guest for the Opening Ceremony was Padma Shri and Khel Ratna Awardee Dr. Deepa Malik, President, Paralympic Committee of India. The ceremony was presided over by Shri Gursharan Singh, Secretary General, Paralympic Committee of India. Other guests present at the Opening Ceremony were Ms. Antara Gogoi, Joint Director, Sports and Youth Welfare, Govt. of Assam; Mr. Alok Khare, Secretary General, SGFI; Akbar Ali Mir, International Swimmer and Mrs. Dorothy Suchiang, CEO, Kampu Metro. Amongst PCI Officials Mr. Kantibhai Parmar and Mrs. Saroj Dabas were present on the dais.

THE CLOSING CEREMONY:

The Closing Ceremony was held on 13th November at 5.30pm. The Chief Guest for the Ceremony was Mrs. Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, Managing Director, Pride East Management Ltd. and Chief Patron, Paralympic Association of Assam. Other guests present at the Closing Ceremony were Mr. Alok Khare, Secretary General, SGFI; Mrs. Dorothy Suchiang, CEO, Kampu Metro; Mr. Kantibhai Parmar and Mrs. Saroj Dabas. Several other guests also visited the pool for Medal Ceremonies during the Competition days.

EVENTS AND CLASSES:

AGE GROUPS:

Competition in following Age Groups were conducted:

1. Seniors (Men & Women)             - Born in or before 2004.
2. Juniors (Men & Women)             - Born in and between 2005 & 2007.
3. Sub-Juniors (Men & Women) - Born in and between 2008 & 2010.

MANAGERS’ MEETING:

Managers’ Meeting was conducted at 4:30pm in a hall at the Swimming Pool Complex. Good number of Managers attended the Meeting. Doubts and queries were answered to their satisfaction.

TECHNICAL OFFICIALS’ MEETING:

Technical Officials’ Meeting was conducted in the same hall at 5:15pm and they were briefed about the Rules, accuracy and standard to be followed as these were WPS approved Championships. Their duties were allotted during the meeting and they were informed about the reporting time. The Technical Officials were distributed T-shirts during the Meeting.

THE RACES AND INDIVIDUAL BEST SWIMMERS:

The events were offered keeping in mind the forthcoming Asian Para Games. This year a record total of 353 events were conducted (254 for men and 99 for women). Six Individual Championship Trophies were given in 3 Age Groups of men and women sections seperately. The winners of Trophy were Pawan Sharma, Haryana (Senior Men), Atharv Patil, Maharashtra (Junior Boys), Aniket Pilankar, Karnataka (Sub-Junior Boys), Garima Vyas, Gujarat (Senior Women), Aayushi Thakral, Haryana (Junior Girls) and Riya Patil, Maharashtra (Sub-Junior Girls).

THE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:

Maharashtra team won Shri Khem Chand Dabas Memorial Team Championship Trophy with a total of 456 points. Karnataka remained second with 349 points and Rajasthan won third place with 227 points. Haryana remained forth with 143 points, Andhra Pradesh won fifth place with 141 points while Gujarat remained sixth with 113 points.

SAI OBSERVERS:

Two Officers from Sports Authority of India had come as Observers for the Championships. They were Mr. Harish Babu, Assistant Director and Mr. Arnab form TOPS section. They were very happy and satisfied about all the arrangements, technical conduct boarding and lodging arrangements.

ORGANIZING SECRETARY AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR:

Mr. Rajib Dey worked as the Organizing Secretary while Dr. V.K. Dabas was the Technical Director for the Championships.

(Dr. V. K. Dabas)

Chairman, Para Swimming,

Paralympic Committee of India