Six Sikkim paddlers to represent state in the Senior Nationals

GANGTOK, 18 Jan: A six-member team of Sikkim Table Tennis Association [STTA] is all set to represent Sikkim in the Senior National Tournament scheduled to be held at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh from 23 to 29 January. The tournament is being organized by the Lucknow Table Tennis Organization.
STTA has shortlisted Karun Chettri, Manoj Sharma, Ujjwal Rai, Kalzang Bhutia, Anita Rai and Mandira Gurung to represent the state in a selection camp held here at Paljor Stadium indoor gymnasium hall today. The team accompanied by Tshering Topgay as team manager will be leaving on Friday.
The names of the state team members were announced during a STTA press conference this afternoon, which was addressed by vice-president, Uday Pradhan, joint secretary, Tshering Topgay, general secretary, Karma Bhutia and publicity secretary, Zigmee Shenga and state coach, Norden Bhutia.
General Secretary, Mr Bhutia stated that the STTA has been providing full support to the players in all aspects to encourage players to perform well in the tournament. He also stated that the credit for the good performance of the players goes to the coach, who has been training them every day. He stated that participation in such tournaments is very important to increase the ranking and also its certificate helps the paddlers to get admission in the best colleges in the future.
Coach, Mr Bhutia further added that the players have been given an opportunity, so they should make good use of it and it offers big exposure for the junior players.
Team Manager, Mr Bhutia stated that the tournament will be tough for the state team as it is also a selection trial for the Indian team. He informed that at present Sikkim stands on the third position in the whole North-East region. He informed that apart from Ujjwal Rai, who is from North Sikkim, rest of the team members are from East Sikkim.