Sport - Table Tennis   

A challenge for established names

By Nandakumar Marar

PUNE JAN 8. The logic behind conducting two heavyweight tournaments within a month of each other is questionable, taking into account the physical and mental strain on players who are expected to give off their best, come what may. The 64th Senior National Table Tennis Championships commences at Balewadi (near Pune) on Wednesday, just weeks after the National Games concluded at Hyderabad last December.

For the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) however, it is a matter of sticking to schedule, without getting worked up about the National Games, propped up by the Indian Olympic Association and thrust upon reluctant athletes and various national federations.

"The Senior Nationals is a prestigious event for every table tennis player. Everyone tries to do their best, even smaller states with no say in the title stakes prepare for it weeks in advance," reasons National coach Kamlesh Mehta, in a telephonic chat from Mumbai.

The former national champion would rather remain silent about the National Games after-effects. Year 2003 is a busy one for Indian paddlers, with the Asian Championship and World Cup coming up. So for the players assembling in numbers at Balewadi Sports Complex, a sprawling complex on Pune's outskirts where silence in the main theme, the 64th Senior Nationals is a challenge and an opportunity.

A challenge for established names and teams, an opportunity for new faces and state units poised to burst on the national scene. Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) is the men's team event champion, while Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB) has the corresponding honour in the women's category. Both teams reported at the venue, only to check out after deciding to prepare in isolation at private hotels in the city, far away from squads camping closer to the venue.

The team composition of both men's and women's champions is hazy at this stage, in the absence of official team lists. And with Chetan Baboor's appearance uncertain, according to local organizers, the focus remains on experienced S. Raman in the men's team event. "PSCB appear strong on paper in the race for the men's team title, though Railways have in Sourav Chakravarthy and Sharat Kamaal players who can trouble the best," observed Mehta, who feels the women's field is topsy-turvy with only Mouma Das being the consistent factor. "The women's competition is very close, T. Pradeepa, Vishaka Vijay and S. Roy are in form."

Men's team champion RSPB has Goa and Kerala to contend with in the Group A round-robin phase, PSCB are in women's Group A with Karnataka and Chattisgarh.

Twenty-nine units in the men's and 28 in women's have been divided into eight groups for a round-robin league, two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout phase to decide the 1-16 positions.

The team event will be held from January 9-11, followed by the individual events. The Maharashtra Table Tennis Association is conducting the 64th senior Nationals.

Team championships: Groupings: Men: Group A (RSPB, Goa, Kerala); B (PSCB, Orissa, Chattisgarh); C (Bengal, Bihar, Assam); D (Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra B, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh); E (Maharashtra A, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur); F (Delhi, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana); G (Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Tripura) and H (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jammu & Kashmir).

Women: Group A (PSCB, Karnataka, Chattisgarh); B (RSCB, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh); C (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa); D (Mah A, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh); E (Assam, Gujarat, Pondicherry); F (Mah B, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Tripura); G (Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand) and H (Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir).

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