19th National Veterans TT Champ concludes at Paljor Stadium

SAGAR CHHETRI
GANGTOK, 24 Feb: The closing ceremony of the 19th edition of National Veterans Table Tennis Championship 2012 hosted by Sikkim for the first time was held at Paljor Stadium indoor gymnasium hall this afternoon.
The five-day championship was organized by the Sikkim Veterans Table Tennis Association and was inaugurated by the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, NK Pradhan, on 20 February.
A total of 38 teams from 24 states, 1 Union Territory of Chandigarh and 4 institutions from across the country took part in the championship. A total of 790 paddlers participated under various categories of 40 plus, 50 plus, 60 plus, 65 plus and 70 plus for men’s and women’s.
Tourism Minister, Bhim Dhungel was present as the chief guest of the closing ceremony, who also declared the closing of the championship.
Indian Veterans Table Tennis Association general secretary, Titus C Philipose appreciated the hospitality and organization of the championship in an enthusiastic manner in the state. He also congratulated the host state and the players from different parts of the country for participating in the championship in the right spirit.
The closing ceremony was also addressed by the SVTTA president, SB Subba and SVTTA general secretary, Kuber Bhandari, who expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister for supporting the championship and for promoting sports and games in the state.
The closing ceremony also featured the final matches of Men’s singles 40-plus and Women’s singles 40- plus categories.
In an interesting and contesting match, Harsh Chopra of Haryana defeated Nupur Santra of West Bengal in the deciding game of the best of five matches of men’s singles. In women’s singles, Sonal Joshi of Gujarat beat Mantu Murmu of West Bengal in straight sets.
The function was also attended by Political Advisor to the CM, KN Rai, who is the chief patron of SVTTA, ADGP Sikkim Police, SD Negi, who is the chief advisor of SVTTA, along with president, RG Lyngdoh, and general secretary, Chiranjeev Chaudhary, of North East Table Tennis Forum and STTA president, CK Basnet among others.

Sikkim gets its first medal in the ongoing Veterans TT Nationals

FETCHES A BRONZE IN WOMEN’S DOUBLES 60 PLUS CATEGORY
GANGTOK, 23 Feb: Sikkim paddlers won a bronze medal in the ongoing 19th National Veterans Table Tennis Championship here at Paljor Stadium indoor gymnasium hall today. PJ Lama and D Gama bagged the bronze medal for the state in the Women’s Doubles 60 plus category. This is also the first medal for the state in this championship so far.
Finals in different categories were also played today in the championship and till the filing of this report four finals were completed. In 75 plus Men’s single final, P Jairam of Andhra Pradesh defeated RP Chatterjee of West Bengal.
In Women’s doubles 40 plus final, A Joshi and S Bakre of Maharashtra defeated M Murmu and P Banerjee of West Bengal. In Women’s doubles 50 plus final, N Kulkarni and Rajeshwari of Maharashtra beat Ujjwal and Preeti of Maharashtra.
In the 60 plus final of the same category, Bina Jacob and Nirmala of Andhra Pradesh defeated Latika and Santa of Karnataka.
The rest of the finals in different categories are scheduled to be played later this evening and tomorrow. The prize distribution ceremony of the championship is scheduled to be held on Friday afternoon.

Veterans TT Nationals begins

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SVTTA LAUNCHED AND SOUVENIR RELEASED
GANGTOK, 20 Feb: The 19th edition of National Veterans Table Tennis Championship has attracted huge participation of paddlers from across the country, which started here at Paljor Stadium indoor gymnasium today.
Sports Minister, NK Pradhan, who was present as the chief guest, declared the five-day event open. The tournament is being organized by the Sikkim Veterans Table Tennis Association [SVTTA]. The championship will conclude on 25 February.
A total of 38 teams from 24 states, 1 Union Territory of Chandigarh and 4 institutions from across the country are taking part in the championship. A total of 790 paddlers will be taking part under various categories of 40 plus, 50 plus, 60 plus, 65 plus and 70 plus for men’s and women’s.
In his presidential address, SVTTA president, SB Subba informed that the SVTTA was formed in 2006 with the primary objectives to promote table tennis in the state and to provide a platform for veteran players. He informed about the various achievements and activities of the association. He also thanked the Chief Minister and his government for supporting the association for holding such a prestigious event in the state.
SVTTA general secretary, Kuber Bhandari mentioned that Sikkim has given many national and international players in different disciplines to the country. He also presented the information on the championship.
During the inaugural function, the Sports Minister released the souvenir of the championship and also launched the official website of the SVTTA. On the occasion, SVTTA also felicitated senior veteran players of the championship.
The inaugural function was also attended by Lok Sabha MP, PD Rai, Indian Veteran Table Tennis Association general secretary, Titus Philipose, Political Advisor to the CM, KN Rai, who is also the SVTTA chief patron and SVTTA chief advisor, ADGP Sikkim Police, SD Negi among others.
This was followed by an exhibition match between Harsh Chopra of Haryana and KK Rai of Mumbai. Mr Chopra is the winner of the 40 plus category in the last edition and also the Asian singles champion last year and first Indian to do so, while Mr Rai is the winner of the 50 plus category of the last edition.

National Veterans TT tourney attracts 790 paddlers

GANGTOK, 19 Feb: A curtain raiser for the 19th edition of National Veterans Table Tennis Championship was held here at Paljor Station indoor gymnasium today. During the function, president, SB Subba and general secretary, Kuber Bhandari, of SVTTA and chief referee for the championship, AS Kler, jointly unveiled the trophies and medals of the championship.
The five-day championship is being organized by the Sikkim Veterans Table Tennis Association [SVTTA], which will be inaugurated on Monday. A total of 38 teams from 24 states, 1 Union Territory of Chandigarh and 4 institutions from across the country are taking part in the championship and a total of 790 participants will be taking part under various categories of 40 plus, 50 plus, 60 plus, 65 plus and 70 plus.

Sikkim briefs TTFI gen secy on preparations to host National Veteran’s TT Championship

GANGTOK, 04 Nov: An informal meeting of the Sikkim Table Tennis Association [STTA] and the Sikkim Veteran’s Table Tennis Association [SVTTA] was held today and a brief report on the upcoming National Veteran’s Table Tennis Championship [to be held in Sikkim in February, 2012] was also presented to the Secretary General, Table Tennis Federation of India, DR Chowdhary, who was on a one-day visit to the State.