The Hindu : Sport / Swimming : Silver jubilee issue of statistical bulletin released

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 24, 2005

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Sport - Swimming

Silver jubilee issue of statistical bulletin released

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The silver jubilee issue of the Swimming Statistical Bulletin, compiled by coach V. K. Pahuja, was released here on Thursday by Dr. J. S. Naruka, Director, Physical Education, Delhi University.

The 280-page bulletin, the main reference book for all swimming enthusiasts in the country, contains articles on diet and elementary treatment of sports injuries among other topics. As usual it contains records and results of various national and international events, keeping its focus on Indian swimmers. Major institutional championships of India also get a mention.

Mr. Pahuja, a member of the International Swimming Statisticians Association, despite his excellent work every year has, however, continued to cause confusion about `national records' despite several clarifications from the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) Secretary, Virendra Nanavati.

By continuing to list the Indian National records under `best Indian performance', the bulletin has once again given room for debate at every major swimming meet. It is quite common at National-level meets for organisers to list only the National championship records as `National records'.

For long, the SFI itself had contended that `National records' could be set only at National championships and whatever timings were being clocked in international competitions should be listed under `best Indian performance'. No one was prepared to accept that the world over the `best' of a country was indeed the national record.

The SFI accepted the logic a few years ago and ruled that national records could be set in major national or international meets. Last year, Mr. Nanavati clarified: "We have National records, National championship records and National Games records." Yet, organisers continued to refer to records set only in the National championships as `national records.'

Pahuja's bulletin does have a section `National aquatic championships records', but none as `National records'.

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