Senior National Aquatic Championship: Assam's Daughters Shivangi Sharma and Astha Choudhury Making Waves

GUWAHATI: On several instances, Assam's girls have done us proud on the grandest of venues. When it comes to bringing honors to the state, Lovlina Borgohain's heroics in the just ended Tokyo Olympics come to mind. Lovlina, who won bronze in the women's 69kg division in Boxing, has her sights set on gold in the 2024 edition.

Similar feelings of joy washed over us all when another Assamese athlete, Hima Das, made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. 

Certainly, the Assamese ladies are making us proud, and two more, Shivangi Sharma and Astha Choudhury, are next in line. Shivangi, a swimmer, won three gold medals in the 74th Senior National Aquatic Championships recently. She won gold medals in the 400m, 100m, and 200m freestyle events. She has also earlier won five gold medals in the 3rd Khelo India Youth Games 2020. There's no denying that she's a rising great prospect. 

Astha Choudhury, a swimmer, shone out by winning gold in the 100m butterfly, silver in the 50m butterfly, and bronze in the 200m butterfly and 200m freestyle. She has previously smashed national records and stated that she was aiming for the Asian Games in 2022. 

Without going into detail, it is important to note that adequate government care and support for athletes may go an extra mile to help the state win more medals. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister, recently took action in this respect. In Diphu, he opened the new Karbi Anglong Sports Association complex. He also announced intentions to build a 25-crore sports centre in Lovlina's hometown of Sarupathar. 

Such infrastructure development in Assam would help to define the state's and country's athletic futures. It will inspire young people to choose athletics as a career. The inhabitants of the northeast are known for their love of sports, and this is a great opportunity to cement the region's place on India's map. 

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