A grand send-off ceremony was hosted at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) NCOE, Centre for Sports Excellence, Ahmedabad, for the Indian swimming contingent that will participate at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan later this month.

Following the completion of the preparatory camp that was held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex from August 1- September 10, the swimming team was accorded a warm send-off to Japan in the presence of swimmers, coaching staff, and distinguished dignitaries.

Arjuna Awardee archer and Indian Olympic Association Executive Council member Dola Banerjee(chief guest), Director, SAI NCoE, Ahmedabad Aditi Singh, SAI Regional Director Prashant Singh, Secretary General of the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) Monal Chokshi, Dronacharya awardee & head coach of the team Pradeep Kumar Sreedharan, Vice President of Gujarat Swimming Association Chintan Patel, Swimming Federation of India Vice President Kamlesh Nanavati and Vice President of Gujarat State Swimming Association Chintan Patel spoke at the gathering to motivate the swimmers.
 

On this occasion, the SAI officials performed a traditional ceremonial tilak ceremony for the players to bid them farewell and extended best wishes for a victorious performance.

Speaking at the ceremony, Head Coach of Indian swimming squad Pradeep Kumar Sreedharan appreciated the team for their hard work during the training camp, he stated that the team is fully prepared to deliver its best at the upcoming continental games.

"The players have been very disciplined and have put in their best efforts during the camp, I have no doubt that they will give their performance at the games."

Speaking at the occasion, Dola Banerjee noted that facilities for athletes have improved remarkably over the years "when I used to play, we would suffer from paucity of equipment, now there is no such scarcity and performance of our athletes in the international arena is getting better all the time. I have no doubt that this time too, our contingent including our swimmers will do very well, I wish them all the best."

Kamlesh Nanavati advised the players to express themselves without feeling any pressure. Director, SAI NCoE, Ahmedabad Aditi Singh noted that the athletes possess immense amounts of internal motivation which will stand them in good stead not only in the field of play but also in life.

Monal Chokshi said "on behalf of Swimming Federation of India I thank SAI Ahmedabad for all their support and hospitality, we are also grateful to Government of India for their consistent support."

SAI Regional Director Prashant Singh vowed to provide the best possible support to the athletes "we are determined to make available the best facilities to our athletes and I promise our athletes that the next time they come, they will find the facilities even better than on this occassion."

An 10 member all male Indian team have qualified for the Asian Games. The team is headed by Head Coach Pradeep Kumar Sreedharan, Coach Veer Dhawal and Coach Nataraj V. Coach Sean Kelly is the Foreign Technical Consultant.

India squad

Akash Mani, Aneesh Kumar Gowda, Benediction Rohit, Dhakshan, Heer Gitesh, Sajan Prakash(Captain), Srihari Natraj, Utkarsh Santosh Patil, Danush Suresh and Vedaant Madhavan

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