Thiruvananthapuram: There is quite a time lag between
the second UTT National Ranking Championships, getting underway on
Saturday at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium here, and the first held in
Hyderabad in June because of international events, including the
recent Asian Games in Hangzhou.
But it has no way dampened the spirits of the participants, eagerly waiting to thrive in domestic environs.
The unprecedented number of entries, totalling 1996 across 12
sections, is a testament to the popularity and significance of the
national ranking championships.
The championships, beginning with the men’s and women’s singles, may not have the likes of G. Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Manush Shah. However, there will be no lack of competition in the two categories, with 236 men and 172 women clashingfor the top prize money and maximum points. Ace player and multiple CWG medal winner A. Sharath Kamal is part of the set of top paddlers, including Harmeet Desai, the top-ranked Indian in the world at No. 73,and Manav Thakkar, who follows him at No. 83.
Of course, the women’s segment will see the Asian Games doubles bronze
medal winners, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika, with the others that
will have a brush with the achievers from Kolkata. In fact, Ayhika,
who won the women’s singles title in Hyderabad, will gun for her
second successive crown. She accounted for Diya Chitale in the final,
but the latter will have a chance here to avenge the loss.
Understandably, the Table Tennis Association of Kerala (TTAK), the
organisers, are overwhelmed by the response, and what makes the events
more worthwhile for the participants is the English weather-like
conditions and the famous indoor stadium in the heart of the capital
city, besides the numerous tourist attractions.
No wonder the city will witness a deluge of table tennis players,
especially the younger lot, accompanied by their parents and occupying
every hotel in and around the stadium. Similarly, players in the rest
of the categories, particularly above under-15, make their presence
count when they compete in the close to Rs. 9-lakh prize money
tournament.
National woman champion Sreeja Akula, after her modest outing in
Hangzhou, would want to stamp her authority and pose a big threat to
Ayhika and former champions Sutirtha and Archana Kamath. The young
guns in both sections of the Under-19 category could make it a
mouth-watering affair and challenge the star players that have held
sway so far. That would make the contests rather interesting.
The Under-11, 13 and 15 Girls and Boys events have always remained a
test for the organisers and the Competition Department, with their
dotting parents around to encourage them all the time, sometimes
overindulging! But it is both a happy and tricky situation for the
Competition Department to schedule the events in such a way that keeps
the kids going through the course enthusiastically.
Competition Manager N. Ganeshan and his referees and umpires’ team are
ready with their plans. He said they will use 16 STAG tables, flooring
and DHS balls for the senior events. A.S. Kler, his deputies T.G.
Upadhyay and T. Bhaskar, 45 Blue Badge, International and National
Umpires will provide the technical support for the next seven days.
