Hand-timing again for National Swimming Championships

Bangabandhu 31st National Swimming, Diving and Water Polo Championships is set to get underway at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur today.

The competition will, however, not feature the electronic board, yet again, since a part of the newly-installed electronic device has been malfunctioning, according to BM Saif, general secretary of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation. Thus, several records are likely to tumble, much like how the championships' last edition had popped 11 national records in the swimming category, all registered by hand-timing.

"The electronic board was officially not yet handed over to us by the national sports council. So, we can't use the electronic board, which has some problems with generating accurate time, thus we are forced to opt for hand-timing," informed Saif at a press conference yesterday.

 Saif further informed that as many as 21 players, who have been in the national camps for the upcoming South Asian Games, will participate in the 38-event competition, featuring a total of 580 participants, alongside 42 swimmers, who have been scouted for advanced training.