Participants dive into the pool at Bankipore Club in Patna during the 35th Bodhan Singh Memorial State-Level Senior Swimming Championship on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Bihar Swimming Association secretary R.B. Pandey on Sunday accused the state government of doing nothing to nurture talents and improve pools for budding swimmers.

“A proper swimming pool has to be 50m-long and 25m-wide. But the pools in Patna are barely 25m-long and are not fit for practice. The government is not concerned about swimmers from the state taking part in national-level championships. It’s the swimmers’ credit that they, despite all odds, continue to win medals at the national level,” he said, while inaugurating the 35th Bodhan Singh Memorial State-Level Senior Swimming Championship at Bankipore Club.

“We have been requesting the government since 1989 to develop facilities for swimmers. We have also been trying to convince various political parties to take up the issue. But all our efforts have gone in vain,” Pandey added.

“We have produced national-level champions such as Ramadhar Jha, Mahendra Choudhary and Bala Singh, but we have never received any grant from the government. We organise the championship every year with help from residents. Even the Bankipore Club has not taken any money from us to organise the event,” he said.

Altogether 101 swimmers took part in the championship. Of them, only 23 were girls. Most of the participants also rued the lack of practice facilities in the city.

Reetika Raj Singh (16), the winner in the 200m freestyle category, said: “The government should do something to promote swimming. The condition under which we practise is not at all supportive. How can one expect the sport to prosper keeping in mind the given infrastructure?”

Ayushi Gupta, a Class XI student of Delhi Public School who finished third in the same category, said: “Competitions like this help us to prepare for national-level championships. But for that we need a proper pool first. The government must provide us with facilities. I aim to take part in national-level championships. For this I have to practise hard.”

While 23-year-old Kanchan Kumar was declared the overall champion in the men’s category, Baby Kumari (17) was the overall champion among the women.