More than 1000 participants from across 26 countries including China, Japan and Singapore will be vying for top honours at the AASF Asian Age Group Swimming Championships, starting here on Tuesday.
With the largest foreign contingent of 79 participants, Kazakhstan will arrive in Bengaluru on Saturday while a 57-member contingent from China will arrive over the weekend.
The nine-day Championships which is a Qualifying event for 2020 Tokyo Olympics will also see representation form countries such as Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Philippines and Indonesia.
Sajan Prakash, who will be spearheading India's campaign along with the likes of sprint sensation Virdhawal Khade and Srihari Nataraj, said this event will be a great opportunity to make the 'A' cut for next year's Olympics.
"Beyond winning medals, this is also a golden opportunity for Indian swimmers to try and make the 'A' cut to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics" Sajan said.
In the previous edition, India had won a total of 40 medals in swimming comprising five gold, 13 silver and 22 bronze medals.
The Championships will see participants in open category (18 years and above), as well as Age Groups I (15-17 years) and II (14 years and below).
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