The table tennis hall at the IGMC Stadium witnessed paddlers assembling with gusto to celebrate the first-ever World Table Tennis Day observed all over the world on Monday.
Players from various schools and coaches from different academies were all smiles for the game which they love passionately found a unique place in the calendar.
“It is a nice feeling that the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has selected April 6 as the World TT Day. This game is so special for many of us as it brings in joy to our lives,” feels Karnam Balaram, secretary of the Krishna District Table Tennis Association.
Incidentally, Karnam Spoorthy, daughter of Balaram, bagged medical seat owing to her exploits in table tennis.
She was India Junior No. 1 and won several medals, trophies in national and international fixtures.
“Players like Bhanusree, Chandrachud and Adiytavalli went to on become doctors while Praneetha bagged a job in Income Tax department. Table tennis shaped many lives of players and administrators as well,” says S.M. Sultan, secretary of Andhra Pradesh Table Tennis Association.
Corporate world
Sankar Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer at Reliance Footprint (Bangalore) and Vasu Ramanujam, senior director Operations at Entercoms (Pune) were also avid paddlers in 70s from Vijayawada who made it big in the corporate world.
Cherishing moments
For coaches like Srinivas, Mallikharjun, Ms. Ghousia and Damodar, this game (table tennis) is a way to indulge in shaping talented players while for administrators like Sultan, Bhaskar Ram (Rajahmundry), P. Viswanth, P. Sundar, (Ramu) and G. Prakash; it is payback time for the game which gave them many cherishing moments.
“The sound of the ping pong ball on the table is the sound of my heart beat,” says Sultan, who brought many national and international events to Hyderabad and Rajahmundry.
For the TT fraternity, this auspicious day, also gave them an opportunity to remember the contribution of the departed administrators, coaches and players, who gave an identity to the game. “We will miss B. Uday Kumar, Balasubramanyam, Buchi (Murali Krishna), P. Rama Babu, Rama Subrahmanyam (Tenali), Shamshad Bhanu Jabbar (Bengaluru) and Satyam Brothers who played a pivotal role in the growth of the game in the 70s,” said P. Viswanth, an administrator.
The fraternity also remembers the role of Sports Authority of India coach Mukkamala Venkateswara Rao, who in the 70s, toiled hard to strengthen the game at the grassroot level in Vijayawada.
It is a nice feeling that the International Table Tennis Federation has selected April 6 as the World TT Day. This game is so special for many of us as it brings in joy to our lives
Karnam Balaram
Secretary, Krishna District Table Tennis Association
