Bhubaneswar: With an aim to give a boost to the sports of swimming, the Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha entered into an agreement with the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).

As per the agreement, Odisha will provide support and sponsor SFI whereas the federation in conjunction with the Odisha State Swimming Association (OSSA) will provide their technical expertise.

The partnership will be valid for one year and can be extended up to five years, under mutually agreed terms.

Commissioner-cum-secretary of the Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha, R. Vineel Krishna and secretary general of the Swimming Federation of India, Monal Chokshi signed the memorandum of understanding in presence of Virendra Nanavati, FINA Bureau member and senior vice president SFI, on the sidelines of the ongoing Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 at the Kalinga Stadium.

The partnership envisage towards a holistic development of the sport from grassroot level and organize national and international repute swimming competitions and events. Also, the plan includes conduct of ‘Train the Trainers’ courses in Odisha.

Krishna, shared, “Swimming is a major discipline in multi events. The sport has a lot of potential to grow and many young swimmers show great prospect at the national level. We are delighted to partner with the Swimming Federation of India for the holistic development of the sport of swimming in Odisha. The Federation will assist in developing all forms of aquatic sports in the state and produce elite swimmers. This partnership will enable us to collaborate and conduct national and international repute Aquatic Championship in Odisha.”

“The Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool Complex at Kalinga Stadium is one of the finest swimming infrastructure in the country and we are strengthening our grassroot swimming training centres too. Our high performance partnership with JSW Sports and this agreement with the Swimming Federation of India will give an added impetus to the sport of swimming,” he added.

Speaking on the partnership, Chokshi, shared, “We are very excited with the signing of the agreement between SFI and the Odisha Government for development of aquatic sport in Odisha and the country. This is an important milestone for SFI and I am certain this partnership will be an enduring relationship to take aquatic sport in the country to uncharted heights.”