Ilie Mercantile Bank 23rd National Swimming Championships begin today at the National Swimming Complex in Mirpur with the organ-isers promising electronic timekeeping device for the swimmers in 'near future'.

The two leading Olympic disciplines like athletics and swimming haw long been denied off one of the most important facilities of the games as local sportsmen suffer in the international arena.

“We haw been talking with Korea with the Bangladesh Olympic Assdciation and the National Sports Council guiding us to get electronic timers. We hope to install the timers in near future and hope that the swimmers would be able to compete with those facili ties in a coming meeting." told Bangladesh Swimming Federation's (BSF) newly elected general secretary Mahbubur Rahman Shahin at a press conferenceyesterday.

Shahin added that the 11-day old committee has also taken steps to go for talent hunting in all dis tricts and will start long-term . training soon.

A total of 348 swimmers including 77 females from 29 associations and services will compete in 38 events. There would be 19 ewnts each for men and women apart from three diving and one water polo events. All the swimmers will be accommodated at the Mirpur Krira Pally at the adjacent Sher-e-Bangla Stadium as the federation has got the nod from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Mercantile Bank will provide Tk 10 lakh out of the total Tk 11-lakh budget.

Dewan Mujibur Rahman. MD and CEO of the bank, informed that they will also provide individual rewards for the best male and female swimmers (Tk 20,000 each) and the emerging male and female swimmers (Tk 10,000 each).

Commandant of National Defence College Lt Gen M Aminul Karim will declare the four-day meet open.