The winners of this event will qualify for the Para Asian Games 2022, to be held in China
Visually impaired, intellectually disabled and physically handicapped players from across India participated
Para Olympian Padma Bhushan – Mr. Devendra Jhajharia and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awardee – Mr. Krishna Nagar inaugurated the event
Under the joint aegis of Paralympic Committee of India and Narayan Seva Sansthan, the ‘21st National Para Swimming Championship’ has been organized from 25th to 27th of March at the Swimming Pool Complex, Maharana Pratap Khelgaon, Udaipur. Para Olympian Padma Bhushan – Mr. Devendra Jhajharia and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awardee – Mr. Krishna Nagar inaugurated the event. The event witnessed participation from more than 400 male and female paralympic swimming personalities of the country.
21st National Para Swimming Championship 2021-2022
Narayan Seva Sansthan is a non-governmental organization that works tirelessly in the areas of education, health, and community development for the underprivileged and differently-abled people. They are working with marginalized communities to host this, one of the biggest paralympic swimming tournaments in the scenic town of Udaipur. National paralympic swimmers from 23 states including Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Tripura etc have been training diligently for this golden opportunity.
Commenting on the same, Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Global President, Narayan Seva Sansthan said, “This championship is going to be held for the second time in the city of lakes. Earlier, the 17th National Para Swimming event was also organized by the institute in November 2017. There is great enthusiasm amongst the participants. For the successful operation of this Maha Kumbh of Para Swimming, the subcommittees like reception, accommodation, vehicles, food, protocol, drinking water, electricity, cleaning, first aid, excursion etc. are discharging their responsibilities well. Special arrangements have been made around the swimming pool for shade for the spectators and for the swimmers to sit, rest and eat. For the convenience of the sports fans, a large screen has been installed on the poolside, on which all the events will be telecasted live. There will also be a special arrangement for lighting and parking around the sports village ground and swimming pool. There are workers with wheelchairs and vehicles to assist them at railway stations, bus stands and aerodromes. The venue of the event, the swimming pool and the accommodation of the swimmers have been kept barrier free. Ramps have been made where necessary at the players’ residence and even the venue (Khelgaon-Swim Tal).”
Adding to it, Dr. V K Dabas, Chairman, Para Swimming (PCI) said, “Such events boost the spirit of Para players to challenge their disability and make them capable enough to touch new heights. The following event will see 50 coaches and technical officers having swimming events in different categories in this championship. Senior category (15-17 years age group), Sub-junior (12 to 14 years age group) and (S1-S10) total 10 categories, visually impaired category (S11-S12) will have two categories while mentally handicapped category will have S-14 class. PCI is recognized by the World Para Swimming Body and their results are authorized and certified. The championship will be based on standard international swimming rules that shall include the use of Automatic Officiating Equipment (AVOI) for standard measurement of accurate time and distance.
The Shree Khemchand Dabas Memorial Team Championship Trophy will be awarded to the state which gets the highest number of medals or points. The best swimmers will also be selected from the men’s and women’s categories of all the three age groups. We look forward to continuing the tradition and working to train and up-skill the Para swimmers as per the National and International Para Swimming Championship standards,” He added.
Foreseeing the Indian Para Swimming community, there has been a tremendous rise in the number of gold medals backed by our players since the last few years. Narayan Seva Sansthan and the Paralympic Committee of India are changing the landscape of Paralympic Sports. The association is braving a new path for a newer India where sports is not limited to the abled but also focusing on the contribution of Indian Paralympians for representing India across the globe.
