The 39th junior National aquatics championships will get underway at the SDAT Aquatic Complex, Velachery, here on Wednesday.
The competition will see events in freestyle (50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 4x100m, 4x200m), backstroke (50m, 100m, 200m), breaststroke (50m, 100m, 200m), butterfly (50m, 100m, 200m), 200m and 400m individual medleys and 4x100m medley relay. Water polo for boys and girls will also be held.
Mr. Kamlesh Nanavati, secretary general, Swimming Federation of India (SFI) said that the girls team for the world youth water polo championships to be held at Perth, Australia in December will be selected here.
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Also, around 30 probables (boys and girls) will be selected for a training programme to be conducted by the SFI, he added.
Prominent swimmers from the State such as T. Sethu Manickavel, S.K. Adarsh Narayan, Anusha Mehta and V.K.R. Meenakshi in group 1 and P. Mukundhan, N. Sriniram, A.V. Jayaveena and Sherlyn Devadason in group 2 will be vying for top honours.
Swimmers from across India such as S.P. Likith and M. Arvind from Karnataka, Neil Contractor from Gujarat, Priyanka Priyadarshini from Delhi are expected to excel.
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“Through the five days of the competition, the heats will be held in the morning and the finals for the corresponding events will be held the same evening,” said Mr. Nainar Asari, Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Aquatic Association.