4-day State Open TT C’ship ends

GANGTOK, 15 Sept: The valedictory function of the 18th Sikkim State Open Table Tennis Championship 2013 was held this evening here at Paljor Stadium indoor gymnasium hall. The Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs, NK Pradhan was the chief guest of the function.
Ten-year-old cadet girl, Lakit Lepcha of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School was awarded as the Most Promising Player of the Championship. Likewise, the Best Stag cadet boys [U-10 years] was awarded to Kalzang Wangchuk Bhutia of TNA and Siddharth Chettri of Bahai School.
The four-day championship was organised by Sikkim Table Tennis Association [STTA]. The championship witnessed the participation of more than 250 paddlers from different parts of the state. The championship had a total of 15 events from cadet to veterans.
In his valedictory address, the Minister congratulated the winners and all the participants in the championship. He expressed that participation is important to make any competition successful and further encouraged players to continue to play despite winning or losing. The Minister appreciated the initiatives and activities taken up by the association for the promotion and upliftment of table tennis in the state.
STTA president, CK Basnet mentioned that the standard of table tennis has improved manifold at present and at present Sikkim in on the second position in the North-East zone. He added that the credit goes to coaches and players for the improvement of standards.
He informed that the selected players of the state open will be participating in the State Games to be held in Gangtok this December and in the upcoming national championships in their respective categories.
The function concluded with the vote of thanks by STTA general secretary, Karma Bhutia.