Hyderabad, Oct 31: Indian swimmers might have failed to win a gold medal in the inaugural Afro-Asian games, but the Team Manager today rated it as a "fine performance" and said it would help India make a splash in the pool in the upcoming international competitions. "Yes we did not win a gold medal. But the showings by the home side are quite impressive. The swimmers did exceedingly well in the competition which had participants from Japan, China and South Africa,” Team Manager Pitambar Jena told the newsperson here. “The showings here signal the improving standards of the Indian swimmers and no doubt this is our best-ever performance in an international meet." In 38 aquatics events that were held during the last week, India managed 19 medals including 8 silver and 11 bronze while Japan dominated the pool with 20 medals, including 14 gold, five of which were won on the last day of the competition yesterday. South Africa finished a distant second with 8 gold medals while china claimed five gold medals for their third-place finish.
Bureau Report