Noida: No city for swimming champs?

Athletes preparing for professional swimming competitions are left with no choice but to travel to Delhi due to the lack of government-funded pools in the city – even private pools are not adequate for training.
The Noida Stadium in Sector 21-A boasts of a variety of sports facilities, including a tennis court, cricket stadium, football ground, shooting range, skating area and a cycling track, but it lacks a swimming pool. Both budding athletes and professional swimmers either travel to the national capital or shell out monthly fees for private pools to train for the sport.
Noida is not a place for professional swimmers: Residents
Ansh Arora, 20, a resident of Sector 49, is preparing for the Singapore Open Water Swimming Championship that begins from June 19 and uses facilities in Delhi to train. “During my formative years, I started swimming at the pool in my school in Noida. Gradually, as my level increased, my coach suggested that I move out of the city and go to Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex, as Noida does not have a proper swimming pool for athletes. It’s been over five years now but the situation remains the same. Noida is simply not a place for professional swimmers,” says Arora, who also travels to Bengaluru for advance training, since he’s also preparing for the Olympics.
Shlok Aggarwal, a 20-year-old state-level swimmer from Sector 26, says, “Cricketers, footballers, badminton players or cyclists can train in Noida, but for swimmers, there are hardly any government facilities. Even if we count private swimming pools, Noida does not even have a 25-metre swimming pool, and we have to go outside the city to train.” Aggarwal goes to train at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Green Park and says that the swimming facilities are not only better in Delhi, but also free of cost.
Experts say that over the years, a number of swimmers have dropped out of the sport because of unavailability of a government facility in the city. “I have been training students in Noida for the past three decades and have seen that students whose parents can afford to take them to private pools in Delhi for advanced training are the only ones who are able to make it. There have been so many cases when I have suggested to some students to go to Delhi in order to get better training since the pools in Noida do not offer professional training,” says Suresh Deshwal, Secretary, District Swimming Association, Gautam Buddh Nagar.
Experts say that over the years, a number of swimmers in Noida have dropped out of the sport because of unavailability of government facilities
‘Not enough swimming pools, no swimming coaches for us’
Aaliyah Singh, 16, who represented India at the South Asia Aquatic Championship, says that she had a hard time looking for a good swimming coach in the city when she started training. “Since there is no facility for swimmers like us, we could not find a single good swimming coach in the city. I used to go to a private school in Noida for my swimming lessons when I started training, but ultimately had to shift to Delhi since I found a good coach and a proper swimming pool there,” says the Sector 37 resident.
Sheena Singh, Aaliyah’s mother, says, “During the initial years, we had to spend at least `4,000 per month (apart from the coaching fees) just to use the private swimming pool located inside a school. We understand that raising and training an athlete requires expenditure, but unlike Delhi and Gurgaon, our city’s authorities have not provided us with facilities which should be free of cost.” Aaliyah now trains at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi after clearing the Khelo India Games for eligibility.
Swimmers at sub-junior and junior level state trials at Greater Noida’s YMCA Sports Complex
‘Budding swimmers of Noida are left discouraged’
Mamta Ahuja, a resident of Sector 19, says, “My daughter’s sports teacher told us that she has the potential of becoming a great swimmer. We have enrolled her in private pools in the city but her coaches now recommend her to go to Delhi to practise.” However, travelling to the sports complex in Delhi is a hassle. “My daughter is just 13 years old so we cannot send her alone, and both my husband and I are working. We have now asked her to focus on studying. We are considering shifting base to Delhi as Noida does not provide the facilities required to train a swimmer,” says Ahuja, who is an interior designer. According to officials, a proposal for an all-weather swimming pool for Noida is in the pipeline. “A proposal for an all-weather swimming pool is under process. The cost estimation is pending for the same, which will be done after the elections are over,” says SC Mishra, Senior Project Engineer at Noida Authority.