The curtains came down on the three-day 6th West Bengal State Finswimming Championship at the Tufanganj Swimming Pool in Cooch Behar, with North 24 Parganas emerging as the overall champions in a fiercely contested championship. In the individual category, Kolkata’s Souvik Das and Aheli Das emerged as the standout performers, winning four gold medals each and securing 20 points apiece. Souvik dominated the men’s events, clinching gold in the 50m, 100m and 200m Surface events, besides winning the 50m Apnea event. In the women’s category, Aheli secured gold medals in the 50m and 100m Surface, 50m Bifins and 50m Apnea events. North 24 Parganas topped the district-wise medal standings with an impressive 273 points. They finished with 85 medals, including 32 gold, 30 silver and 23 bronze.
Howrah finished runners-up with 147 points, winning 49 medals comprising 15 gold, 19 silver and 15 bronze. Kolkata secured third place with 112 points, collecting 32 medals—15 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. Host district Cooch Behar put up a strong performance on home turf, finishing sixth in the overall standings with 70 points. The hosts won 22 medals, including 9 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze. However, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad failed to open their medal accounts in this edition of the state championship.
Speaking about the road ahead, Kankan Panigrahi, Secretary of the state association, said that the first, second and third-place finishers in each event will get the opportunity to represent West Bengal directly at the upcoming National Finswimming Championship. The championship witnessed participation from 410 athletes representing 15 districts of West Bengal. Over three days, the Tufanganj Swimming Pool witnessed intense competition across multiple categories, with several promising performances and emerging talents making their mark. With the state championship now concluded, the focus shifts to the national stage, where Bengal’s top performers will look to carry their momentum forward and make their mark at the upcoming National Championship.
