Record entries for season-opener state TT meet in Bhavnagar

Gandhidham 1, May: Record entries of 686 (highest after Covid) have been received for the Microsign 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament which will be conducted from May 2 to 5 at the SAG Sports Complex, Sidsar in Bhavnagar.

The season-opener tournament is organised by Bhavnagar District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) and the title is sponsored by Microsign Products and the tournament is supported by Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG).

GSTTA decided to increase the overall prize money this season by 13% while keeping the entry fee unchanged, much to the delight of the players.

Also, from this year, GSTTA decided to award ranking points to the players from Round of 64. Earlier, players got ranking points from pre-quarter final stage onwards.

While state’s top players Krittwika Sinha Roy, Oishiki Joardar, Frenaz Chipia, Chitrax Bhatt, Soham Bhattacharya and Akshit Savla have all confirmed their entries, all eyes will be on local paddlers Namna Jayswal, Riya Jayswal, Dhyey Jani and Charmy Trivedi to do well in front of their home crowd.

Namna and Riya’s father and veteran paddler Jignesh Jayswal too will take part in the meet.

Shri Nisheeth Mehta, president, Bhavnagar District Table Tennis Association expressed delight over the huge number of entries. “For the first-time ever, our season is kicking off early. We are ready to combat the heat in the month of May as the tournament will be held in the newly-constructed AC Indoor Stadium developed by the government through SAG,” Shri Mehta said.

GSTTA secretary Kushal Sangtani informed about the benefits of starting the season early. “We are beginning our season early so that we finish early and then state’s top players can fully focus on the national circuit which usually starts after the second quarter of the year,” Sangtani said.