MEGA EVENT: 1.6 Kms of NSCB Open Sea Swimming Competition successfully organised; 60+ yrs age group shows morale for youngsters of A&N Islands

Port Blair, Mar 18: The Department of Sports & Youth Affairs, Andaman and Nicobar Administration have successfully conducted the mega event Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Open Sea Swimming competition on 18th March 2023 as a part on on-going celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and hosting of G20 summit in India. As per scheduled at the dawn of day, 191 Nos. of participants enthusiastically participated in the event.

Admiral D.K. Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) Lt. Governor and Vice Chairman, Islands Development Agency as Chief Guest, flagged off the first event “Men’s Open (18 yrs to 50 yrs)” from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island in which 138 participants took part. The remaining events of the competition were flagged off by Shri Keshav Chandra, Chief Secretary, A&N Administration. The participants covered a distance of 1.6 Kms for which an elaborate route arrangement was made with the help of dinghies with a width of 40 mtrs. As a safety measure rescue boats alongwith divers and lifeguards with sufficient safety equipment were placed at adequate distances.  

It is worth mentioning that for the first time in history of these Islands, the Lt. Governor has himself participated in the open sea swimming competition and completed the race up to the finishing point at Rajiv Gandhi Water Sports complex under the Senior Citizen category (60 to 70 yrs) which has greatly boosted the morale of the participants and generated great enthusiasm for the Islanders.

The prize distribution ceremony was held at Rajiv Gandhi Water Sports complex in which the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration gave away the cash award of Rs.50,000/- to first prize winner, Rs.30,000/- to second prize winner, Rs.20,000/- to third prize winner and Rs.1000/- as consolation prize to each participant who completed the race. Accordingly, prizes, trophies, medals and certificates were also presented to the winners. 

Shri Nikhil Kumar, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Sports) welcoming the Chief Guest and dignitaries expressed immense pleasure to conduct such a mega event in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. While counting the benefits of swimming as a sport, he also highlighted that the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Open Sea Swimming competition will generate new enthusiasm among sports lovers towards water sports and open sea swimming. He also stated that Andaman and Nicobar Islands are surrounded by sea, and swimming is almost a local sport for all the youths in these Islands. While appreciating all the participants, he had special words for the Lt. Governor for his active participation and successfully completing the race. He also praised 71 year old Shri Hem Chander and said that they have proved age is not a barrier if one is determined to achieve a goal.

The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration while addressing the gathering have expressed his gratitude towards the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs for organising such an event in the Islands and the participants for their overwhelming response, zeal and enthusiasm. He thanked Lt. Governor for his support and inspiration for successful completion of the event.
Shri Yash Chaudhary, Secretary (Sports) in his vote of thanks, thanked the Lt. Governor, Chief Secretary A&N Administration for extending their valuable suggestions from time to time in accomplishing this mega event successfully. He also thanked Commissioner cum Secretary (Sports) and Secretaries of various departments including PCCF, ADGP, Media and all line departments for their cooperation. The programme ended with a photo session of the chief guest and dignitaries with the winners.

The list of winners with time coverage in each category is as under.

S.N	Categories	Age group (in years)	No. of participants	Flag off time	Name of the winners	Completion Time (hh:mm:ss)	Position
1	Men’s Open	18 to 50	138	5:40 am	Mr. S Meghanathan	00:28:53	I
					Mr. Saw Yona	00:29:31	II
					Mr. Rajiv Mondal	00:30:19	III
2	Women’s Open	18 and above	15	5:45 am	Ms. Naw Absha	00:36:00	I
					Ms. Aishwarya Sati	00:37:00	II
					Ms. Naw Polisju	00:38:50	III
3	Girls	12 to 18	07	5:50 am	Kri. Deepanshi Yadav	00:32:44	I
					Kri. Aditi Kumari	00:40:20	II
					Kri. Kajal Kumari	00:40:48	III
4	Boys	12 to 18	16	5:50 am	Kr. Aditya	00:32:44	I
					Kr. Deepak Yadav	00:33:45	II
					Kr. Sambgat Singh Parmar	00:34:45	III
5	Super Senior Citizen	Above 70	01	5:55 am	Mr. Hemchander	1:41:21	I
6	Senior Citizen	60 to 70	07	5:55 am	Mr. S K Roy	00:39:13	I
					Mr. K Sankaran	00:59:02	II
					Mr. Mohd. Rafi	01:08:23	III
7	Men’s Open	50 to 60	08	5:55 am	Mr. Sanjay Kumar	00:39:15	I
					Mr. Abdul Razak	00:43:04	II
					Mr. Pawan Kumar	00:45:43	III
	Total		192