Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) inaugurated the 39th Inter-IIT Aquatics Meet 2025 on its campus today, marking the start of the 58th Inter-IIT Sports Meet, co-hosted this year with IIT Hyderabad and IIT Tirupati.

The event runs from 30 September to 5 October 2025, featuring swimming, diving, and water polo competitions. Over 400 athletes from 17 IITs are participating, including IIT Bombay, Delhi, Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and others.

The Meet was inaugurated by Olympic swimmer and Arjuna Awardee Sebastian Xavier in the presence of Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, and Prof. Sathyanarayana N. Gummadi, Dean (Students). Prof. Kamakoti highlighted the historic collaboration of a first-, second-, and third-generation IIT hosting the event and lauded IIT Madras' record 24 General Championship wins, the highest among all IITs.

Sebastian Xavier shared his journey from river swimming to the Olympics, encouraging participants to excel in aquatic sports. Prof. Gummadi emphasized the value of sports in building teamwork, resilience, and leadership while fostering unity among IITs.

IIT Madras has been a pioneer in sports-based admissions, introducing the Sports Excellence Admission (SEA) scheme in 2024, reserving supernumerary seats for students with national or international sporting achievements.

The Main Sports Meet 2025 will follow from 14-21 December 2025, featuring athletics, football, hockey, cricket, and other events with over 3,000 student athletes. With state-of-the-art facilities, including an Olympic-standard 50m pool, IIT Madras continues to promote holistic student development through academic and athletic excellence.