NEW DELHI: The hosts of domestic table tennis tournaments have got a major shot in the arm after Stag International announced an annual package of Rs 8.5 million towards sponsorships, soon after the annual general meeting of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) at Gurugram on Sunday.
It was also decided here that Odisha will host the 80th senior national table tennis championships after a gap of 12 years. The state had hosted the event in 2001 and in 2006. It will be held in Cuttack in all probability.
The AGM also decided to continue with the existing ranking system for all categories sans men and women. It was decided that at any given point of time, seven tournaments will form basis for finalising the ranking points in the two sections.
Speaking on the occasion, the owners of equipment partners of TTFI — Rakesh Kohli and Vivek Kohli — said that they were offering a sponsorship amount of Rs 1 million each for the five zonal events and two nationals (cadet and sub-junior and junior and youth) and Rs 1.5 million for the senior nationals.
Vivek Kohli said that this was their way of promoting table tennis in the country. “We have long been thinking to contribute more substantially, apart from the routine sponsoring of tables, balls, flooring and kitting to players,” he said.
The Meerut-based manufacturers, who supply Stag equipment and apparels in over 150 countries, also announced state leagues in the metros. For the first season this year, they have chosen Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Lucknow to begin with. “We will include more states in the League from next year,” Vivek Kohli said.
Vivek Kohli also said that they had picked Lucknow as one of the venues for the league in the inaugural year as they hailed from the state of Uttar Pradesh and having represented the state as player in nationals, he had a certain duty towards promotion of the sport in the state. “Moreover, our manufacturing unit is in UP,” he reasoned.
Recalling their long association with the federation, TTFI secretary general MP Singh said that Stag International has a played a crucial role in promotion of the sport, especially supplying kit and equipment all these years for TTFI tournaments. “With their additional sponsorship support, our state units will be immensely benefited. It will reduce the burden on the hosts of domestic events. We are really thankful to Stag,” he said.
