Bhubaneswar, The Sports and Youth Services Department (DSYS) of Odisha government on Saturday signed an agreement with Swimming Federation of India (SFI) to develop, promote and expand the swimming ecosystem in the State.

Through this collaborative partnership, Odisha will provide support and sponsor SFI and the federation in conjunction with Odisha State Swimming Association (OSSA) will provide their technical expertise. The partnership will be valid for one year extendable to five years, under mutually agreed terms, said an official.

Odisha sports secretary R Vineel Krishna and SFI secretary general Monal Chokshi signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the ongoing Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2021 here at the Kalinga Stadium.

The partnership, over the next five years, will be towards the holistic development of the sport from grassroot to elite, include conduct of national and international repute swimming competitions and events and conduct ‘train the trainers' courses in Odisha.

"Swimming is a major discipline in multi events. The sport has a lot of potential to grow and many young swimmers are showing great prospects at the national level. We are delighted to partner with SFI for the holistic development of the sport of swimming in Odisha," said Vineel Krishna.

The Federation will assist in developing all forms of aquatic sports in the State and to produce elite swimmers. This partnership will also enable us to collaborate to also conduct the National and international repute Aquatic Championship in Odisha, he said.

Stating Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool Complex at Kalinga Stadium is one of the finest swimming infrastructures in the country, the sports secretary said, "We are strengthening our grass root swimming training centres too. Our High-Performance Partnership with JSW Sports and this association with the Federation will give an added impetus to the sport of Swimming."

Speaking on the partnership, Monal Chokshi, said, "We are very excited with the signing of the agreement for development of aquatic sport in Odisha and the country. This is an important milestone for SFI and I am certain this partnership will be an enduring relationship to take aquatic sport in the country to uncharted heights."