Hyderabad, Feb 25 (PTI) The Hussain Sagar Lake here will stage the country's first-ever city-based rowing league -- ASMITA Rowing League -- from February 26 in what could be a huge fillip to the sport.

Backed by the Government of India's Khelo India mission, the league will see participation by eight teams -- Bhopal Waves Queen, Chennai Ranis, Cochin Queens, Cuttack Rowing, Deccan Queen Pune, Hyderabad Queen, Kolkata R-Oars and Ludhiana Team Rowing -- and 250 girls in U-19 and U-23 age groups and five different events.

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Organised in collaboration with the Rowing Federation of India, the tournament will also reward the top-6 finishers in each event -- Single Sculls (W1x), Double Sculls (W2x), Quadruple Sculls (W4x), Coxless Pairs (W2) and Coxless Fours (W4) -- with attractive cash incentives.

National chief coach Ismail Baig, who has accompanied the Indian team to five Olympic Games and seven Asian Games, praised the union government for taking up the cause of promoting women's sport and particularly rowing.

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"We are staging such a city-based league for the first time in this sport. Since it is being organised for the first time, we have relaxed certain rules to encourage more and more kids to come and compete," Baig said in a Sports Authority of India (SAI) release.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)