National Ranking Table Tennis tourney begins tomorrow

Vijayawada: Arrangements are underway to host the prestigious National Ranking Table Tennis Tourney at the DRRMC Indoor stadium here from September 6 to 12.

India’s top table tennis players, who participated in the Asian Games and Common Wealth Games and other national events can be seen in action in Vijayawada as the Andhra Pradesh Table Tennis Association (APTTA) is hosting the event. 

The event is being held under the auspices of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).  Top players like Achanta Sarat Kamal, G Sathiyan, A Amalaraj, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Sanil Shetty, Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherji, Mouna Das, Madhurika Patkar and other players will be vying for the tournament, which will be held for sub-juniors, juniors, youth, men and women segments. 

The APTTA secretary S M Sultan said about 700 players from different parts of the country will take part in the National Ranking TT tournament. He said participation in this tournament is must for TT players to get selected for the national team and Rs 7 lakh cash prize will be distributed to the winners.

The APTTA media co-ordinator Jayaram Sridhar said 12 brand new stag tables will be used along the terraflex flooring for the tournament. Sridhar said Vijayawada had earlier hosted the national TT tournament in 2012 and hoped sports lovers particularly the young TT players would enjoy watching the mega event. 

Table Tennis Federation of India Director Ganeshan will visit the city to supervise the arrangements. Sports Minister Kollu Ravindra will inaugurate the event at 10 am on September 6 at DRRM Indoor Stadium. Special Chief Secretary L V Subramanyam, SAAP Chairman Ankamma Chowdary, Mayor Koneru Sridhar, MLAs and others will attend the inaugural function, Sridhar added.