Swimming Federation of India plots water polo’s revival

Ropes in Serbian double-Olympic medallist Slobodan Soro to kick-start the effort

The last time India was a force to reckon with in men’s water polo, at least at the Asian level, was in the 1970s. After a gold in the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, it claimed silver in 1970 and bronze in 1982.

But since then, the sport has been on a steady decline. The men haven’t participated at a single Asian Games since 1986. The women featured in the 2010 edition and finished fourth out of four teams, conceding 96 goals in three matches.

The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) has thus solicited help from a Serbian Olympic hero, Slobodan Soro, who won bronze at 2008 Beijing and 2012 London, to set India on the path towards redemption.