Play for a cause

Table Tennis and V. Chandrashekar. The game and a champion. Life was going great guns for the player till a botched-up surgery cut short his dream run. But that has not deterred Chandra. Now, he is as busy as ever training youngsters and living his dream through them. But a bigger project is what is keeping his mind occupied all the time… an exclusive TT stadium in Chennai.

Says Chandra, who works with SBI, “The Tamil Nadu Government sanctioned land in Mogappair to develop a state-of-the-art facility. We have got all the necessary sanctions from the Corporation and other departments. But what we lack is funds. The cost of the project is about Rs. 90 lakhs and we have about Rs. 65 lakhs so far.”

Chandra has found many generous sponsors. The latest to pitch in is Chandra’s close family friend, Y.Gee Mahendra. “We have been friends for years. He has always been a pillar of strength. In fact, years ago, he was among the first to help me for my treatment abroad. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my dear friends for his support right through.” Chandra has plans to reach out to friends in other cities to raise funds for his dream project.

Mahendra is staging his play, ‘Irandam Ragasiyam’, as a fund raiser for the proposed Table Tennis Academy, on July 6, 6.30 p.m., at the Sri Rama Rao Kala Mantap, Habibullah Road, T.Nagar. Tickets for the show are available at the venue. And the entire proceeds will go to building Chandrashekar’s dream project.