Longest swimming meet to start
COMPETITORS from Bangladesh, Spain and Thailand, alongside India, will take part in the 74th edition of the National Open Water Swimming Competition scheduled to get under way in Bengal’s Murshidabad district from Sunday, it was announced at the weekend.
Organised by the Murshidabad Swimming Association and recognised by the Swimming Federation of India, the meet will have 81km and 19km categories.
This is the world’s longest swimming meet.
The 81km category will start from Ahiron Barrage Ghat in Murshidabad, while the 19km section will begin from Jiaganj Sadar Ghat.
Both categories will finish at Gorabazar Ghat.
In the 81km category, there are 18 participants, while 41 participants will vie for top honours in the 19km men’s category.
There will be 13 women competitors in the 19km category.
Spain’s Jose Luis Larrosa Chorro, Cesar Hernandez Ruiz and Ponce Daniel will take part in the 81km men’s category, while Thailand’s Andreas Hvass will be seen in action in the 19km men’s section.
The trio of Monirul Islam, Ashiqur Rahman and Asif Rana of Bangladesh will take part in the men’s 81km category, and Najma Khatun, Sonia Aktar and Naima Akter will take part in the 19km women’s category. – IANS