Asian School Indoor Rowing meet to begin from Sep 4
Kolkata : Nearly 2 lakh students from across India and neighbouring Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are expected to take part in the Asian School Indoor Rowing Championships, which will be inaugurated at the Calcutta Rowing Club on September 4.
Briefing the media here about the event, veteran rower and founder of Bengal Water Sports -- the organiser of the event, Shakeel Ahmed said: "Apart from 75,000 students from 100 schools of West Bengal, more than one lakh and fifty thousand students from other states of the country including Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab will take part in this meet."
"Our aim is to reach the very grass-roots level by conducting the preliminary rounds in different districts," Shakeel said adding that a separate competition would also be held for the specially abled children along with this meet.
Speaking on the occasion, organising chairman of the event and Associate Vice President of Rowing Federation of India Chandan Roy Chowdhury intimated that "indoor rowing is simulated actions of rowing through ergometer on land. "Indoor Rowing is now quite popular and regularly practiced in the western countries though it is comparatively a new entrant in the world of sports in India and other Asian countries".
Giving details of the competition, Shakeel Ahmed, who earlier won many international medals, said: "It would be held for three age groups -- under 12, under 15 and under 18 years -- both for boys and girls.
"After intra-school competition, 18 students -- 9 boys and 9 girls -- would be selected from each school who will then compete in district and thereafter in state level championships."
All the state level winners along with competitors from other countries will join the final to be held at an indoor stadium in the city on December 2 next.
"FISA, World Rowing Body, has recognized this event and is likely to send a representative to observe this championship, Shakeel said.
