Rajahmundry Zonal Table Tennis, one of the best held

By Vikramadithya Shivaram
Most people who attended the recently conducted South Zone in Rajahamundry, Andhra Pradesh would call it the best zonal ever. Apart from the usual events, participants were treated like royalty. The APTTA (Andhra Pradesh Table Tennis Association) spared no expense in making life comfortable for the players over the 5 day course of the tournament. Conducted at the Cherukuri gardens, this was the first national event to be conducted at Rajahmundry.
The matches were conducted in two air conditioned halls accomodating 6 tables each. A number of school and college students were enthralled by rally after rally. Each match left them wanting more. All meals were free and this was not your regular 2 course meal. It consisted of a gigantic buffet! Everyone was certainly fed up at the end of this zone. To and fro transportation was organised for the players at no cost, and yes accomodation for everyone was free as well and many players would regard their stay as more than comfortable.
Music Programmes went on through the night and these were telecasted all over India. Another notable thing about this tournament would be the availability of free wi-fi connectivity.
One can definitely say that this south zone was like no other. Hats off to all the organisers and the APTTA for making it so special.

Young blood hunts for the old

The new generation was seen asserting its progress at the South Zone National Ranking Table Tennis tournament at Rajahmundry.

Soumyajit Ghosh beat G Sathiyan to reach the finals. He meets Harmeet Desai, who overcame southpaw Sanil Shetty's challenge.

It is interesting to note that three of the four semi-finalists are just 18 and even Sanil has just recently finished his Youth participation. This augurs well for Indian Table Tennis. Of course, the big India stars, Sharath Kamal and A Amalraj did not participate, but it at least means that these youngsters are right on the heels of the legends of Indian TT.