South Asian Aquatic Championship from Tuesday
View(s):By Susil Premalal
The Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) will host the inaugural South Asian Aquatic Championship (SAAC) from Tuesday at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex in Colombo.The meet is scheduled to go till Sunday.
Seven South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka will participate in this event. The SLASU received the blessing to host the SAAC 2016 when the heads of the South Asian National Federations met during the 12th South Asian Games (SAG) 2016 held in India recently.
The SAAC which would follow the Asian Age Group Aquatic Championship model is expected to be conducted every two years from 2016 onwards to provide experience for the age group athletes from the South Asian Countries. The 2016 edition of the SAAC will feature swimming, diving, water polo and open water swimming, which are part of the Olympic Programme as well.
The Championship will commence with the opening ceremony scheduled for October 18 with Dayasiri Jayasekera, Minister coming in as the Chief Guest. Over 400 top athletes across all age categories and aquatic sports from the South Asian countries have confirmed their participation including 160 athletes from Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Team will comprise of approximately 85 swimmers, 25 divers, 30 water polo players and 20 open water swimmers.