There was a time in the 1990s and the mid-2000s when State-ranking table tennis tournaments, numbering more than a dozen, were held in eight or ten different venues in the city and the districts, and the paddlers, playing in different conditions, benefited immensely.
In the last couple of years, the scenario has changed completely. This year, the ranking tournaments will be conducted at only one venue, the Hall of TT at the Nehru Stadium.
Certainly, this does not bode well for the state of the game in Tamil Nadu, which is considered one of the best in India in terms of infrastructure and talent.
The University Union Indoor Stadium (now demolished), YMCA Vepery (rebuilt recently, but without TT infrastructure), the Medimix Chandra Academy at the DG Vaishnav College (recently shifted to a new building), the YMIA on Armenian Street, the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Broadway and Basin Bridge (various unknown reasons), Don Bosco-Egmore (change in management of the school) the Santhome HSS (unaffordable rent) and the Nehru Indoor Stadium (ditto) are some of the venues where tournaments used to be held over the last two decades or so but are not anymore.
“Lack of venues (for tournaments) is certainly an issue to be tackled,” says G. Sathiyan, one of India’s top players. The 22-year-old explains that playing in one venue will result in monotony and the players might fast forget the art of adapting to various venues. “Different centres will have different conditions, and players will have to understand and play accordingly, and therein lies the charm,” says Sathiyan, adding that with the number of districts hosting tournaments becoming fewer, the burden on Chennai to host events has increased.
Sivananda Seshadri, a former State champion, agrees that playing in different venues is good for players, but adds “we have to manage with” the other venues not being viable for organisers for various reasons.
“Earlier, we used to play at many venues, such as the Vepery YMCA, the University Union, St. Joseph’s CoE, Santhome (HSS), the Nehru Indoor Stadium…but now I think the rent and electricity bills at various centres have increased manifold, which the organisers, I believe, are finding difficult to pay for,” says Sivananda.
Sushmit Sriram, one of the top players from the State, concurs. “Nobody is coming forward to host a tournament, and as a result we (players) are left with no choice,” he says, as he makes a point of how the State players will find it difficult when competing in a bigger arena during a National-ranking tournament.
K. Srivatsa, who represented the State from 1996-2008 and has played in several venues in the city, agrees playing at just one venue will see the paddlers struggle when competing outside Tamil Nadu. “We can’t blame the State Association, but from the players’ point of view, it is definitely a disadvantage,” he says. TNTTA is aware of the problems. T.K. Vijayarangam, Secretary, TNTTA, says: “We are looking at other venues.”
Recently, J. Selvakumar, Treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Table Tennis Association, and his wife Arul Selvi, a former India No.1, met the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu Member Secretary, Shambhu Kallolikar, and apprised him on the need for the Association to have a stadium of its own. Apparently, the official has promised to look into the matter.
TNTTA should not settle for just finding other venues; it should also ensure that basic facilities like proper lighting and height of ceiling, and appropriate flooring, among other things, are provided.
(This is a weekly feature on the Chennai sporting scene).
