Table Tennis players from 25 countries will fly down to Surat to take part in the Commonwealth Table Tennis tournament to be held at Pandit Deendayal Indoor Stadium, from October 27 to November 1. This would be a first time Gujarat organises an international tournament of a massive magnitude and stature, India,however, will be hosting the Commonwealth championships for the sixth time.
The championships will see over countries participating in different categories like, men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed double, apart from the men's and women's team championships, in the six-day event.
Making the announcement at a press meet in Surat, Table Tennis Federation of India secretary-general Dhanraj Choudhary said the tournament will do a lot of good for the paddlers in the state who have been showing a lot of promise in the last couple of years. In the last edition in New Delhi, India had bagged a silver (men's team) and a bronze (women's team) medal, besides winning bronze medals in other categories. Veterans Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das had three medals each to their accounts, including the team events. Both of them, besides winning the men's and women's singles bronze also bagged the men's doubles and mixed doubles bronze medals.
“We have both experience and youth to tackle the medal issues and after a sting of intensive national camps, the selectors will sit to pick the squad for the championships,” said Choudhary. He also praised the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association for volunteering to host the championships. President of GSTTA, Vipul Mittra, has already formed a high-powered organising committee under the chairmanship of Milind Torawane, commissioner of Surat Municipal Corporation, and other top dignitaries. The Sports Authority of Gujarat is also extending all possible help to make the event a success.
