Pratham eyes title on home turf
Vadodara, July 10: Local paddler and second seed in men’s category, Pratham Madlani will settle for nothing less than the best result in order to reclaim top position in state rankings as the IOCL 4th Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2024, organised by Table Tennis Association of Baroda District (TTABD) under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association, gets underway at the Sama Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara from July 11 to 14.
The title sponsor of the tournament is India Oil Corporation Ltd while the co-sponsors are GAIL and Bank of Baroda and is supported by Sports Authority of Gujarat and UTT. Stiga is the equipment partner while VSPF is the venue partner.
A total of 608 entries have been received for the tourney. In the men’s category, Pratham will be wary of challenges from top seed Chitrax Bhatt and third seed Jaynil Mehta.
In women’s category, top seed Filzahfatema Kadri remains the favourite for the title in absence of joint top-seed Krittwika Sinha Roy. Kadri’s closest competitors will be third seed Oishiki Joardar, Radhapriya Goel and Frenaz Chipia.
Apart from Pratham, Ved Panchal and Mahek Sheth are the other local paddlers who will be in limelight during the meet.
President, TTABD, Jayaben Thakkar said: “All facilities are in place to make state paddlers at home during the tournament.”
Kalpesh Thakkar, secretary, TTABD, is pleased with the high number of entries. “Our aim is to promote the sport. Top class equipments are in place for our players,” he said.
