Vadodara, December 9: Around 400 paddlers, representing champion table tennis playing schools from 28 states in the country, will be seen in action during the 2nd edition of 11even Sports Inter-School Table Tennis National Championships 2016,jointly organized by 11EVEN Sports (ESPL) and Table Tennis Association of Baroda (TTAB), which will be played at Sama Indoor Sports Complex, Vadodara from December 10 to 12, 2016. Kamlesh Mehta, Director 11Even Sports announced this at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
From left to Right : Mayank Mathur , CEO , VSPF, N Ganeshan , Competition Manager , Kalpesh Thakkar, Organizing Secretary Jayaben Thakkar, President , TTAB and Vice President GSTTA, Kamlesh Mehta, Director, 11Even Sports Ashwin Gandhi, Chairman, Organizing Committee, Haresh Sangtani, Hon.Sec GSTTA and Hon Jt Sec , TTFI and Jitendra Soni , Vice President, TTAB during the Press Conferenc of the 2nd edition of 11even Sports Inter-School Table Tennis National Championships 2016,art Vadodara.
The Championships is being held under the auspices of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) and supported by Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) and Vadodara Sports Promotion Foundation (VSPF).
“The Inter-School Table Tennis National Championships will spread awareness about the game in schools and also provide a platform for young table tennis players at a very young age. This will certainly help increase the base of the game at the grassroots,” said Kamlesh Mehta, an 8-time National men’s singles champion and Arjuna Awardee.
Some engrossing tussles for supremacy will be witnessed between the 85 State champion teams that will be participating and vying for the coveted title of “National School Champion” in four categories — junior boys and girls for players studying up to standard 7th and senior boys and girls for players of standard 8th to 10th. The champion teams in each of the four categories of respective states have qualified after participating in their respective State Championships.
Mehta also thanked the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) for backing the event and for the support provided by the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) and Vadodara Sports Promotion Foundation (VSPF). “We (11even Sports) in association with TTFI are working together to build players for the 2024 Olympics. Through such events we want to focus of preparing well in advance so that we can groom young talent. We will strive to make table tennis the most played sport in schools and will also encourage and support all the State associations.”
The organizers have provided the best possible facilities for the children, including excellent hospitality. Besides the state-of-the art playing facilities, the kids have been give good accommodation to make their stay comfortable and are also being provided all their meals during the duration of the tournament.
Smt. Jayaben Thakkar, President–TTAB & Vice President–GSTTA said that, TTFI has taken a very good step of conducting the National School event under its banner Further Smt. Jayaben thanked GSTTA which has been doing very well under the leadership of the dynamic President, Shri Vipul Mittra, IAS, for allotting the prestigious event to TTAB.
The format of the tournament will on a league cum knockout basis.
About the Format of Play:
Explaining the format of play, Sh. N. Ganeshan, Competition Manager informed the media that each team can comprise of minimum two and maximum four players. The matches will be played in two stages: First Stage the teams will be divided in groups of 3/4 teams each and will play a round robin league to determine their positions in the respective groups. Top two teams in each group will qualify for the second stage which will be played on knockout basis. The matches will played on Corbillion Cup format of maximum of 5 matches. All matches shall be of Best of 5 Games. The team that wins three matches will be declared the winner. Sh.Anil Dubey will be the Chief Referee.
Trophies will be awarded to the all Winning Teams, while Medals & Merit Certificates will be awarded to all the team members (Max 4 players) and 1 Coach / Manager for the Winners, Runner up & Semi finalist teams. Participation Certificates will also be given to all the participants including the Coaches / Managers.
While 11EVEN Sports are fulfilling the dual role of sponsors and organizers, the event is supported by Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) & Vadodara Sports Promotion Foundation (VSPF). Renowned international Table Tennis Company STIGA is the Equipment Partner and will supplying the TT tables, flooring, Umpires tables and score boards, partitions etc.
Sh. Ashwin Gandhi of Express Group of Hotels will be the Chairman, Organising Committee and Mr. Kalpesh Thakkar, Hon. Secretary-TTAB will be the Organising Secretary.
The Opening Ceremony will be held at 09.30 am on 10th December, 2016 while the finals will be played from 3:30 pm onwards on 12thDecember, 2016 followed by the Prize Distribution.