Mohammed Riaz, former Indian men's hockey team captain, was unanimously nominated as the President of Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA) in its Emergent Executive Committee meeting (held via Zoom) held here on Sunday. He will stay in the post till 2023.
The position was left vacant after former India paddler and three-time National men's champion V. Chandrasekar passed away last month due to COVID-19 complications.
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Riaz, who has represented India in two Olympics — 1996 Atlanta & 2000 Sydney Games, said he will focus on player development and not the infighting between the two table tennis associations in Tamil Nadu. Both the TTTA and TNTTA are affliliated to the Table Tennis Federation of India. “I will not get into the politics of the Association(s). My focus will be on player development alone,” the 49-year-old, who is a Deputy General Manager of Air India, told Sportstar here on Sunday.
“For me, table tennis is a sport like hockey or any other sport. I will do everything in my capacity to provide the best of facilities to the players.”
J. Selvakumar, Secretary of TTTA, said Riaz was nominated as he had the full support of district secretaries of the association.
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“All the District Secretaries of TTTA wanted Riaz as he is a familiar face having represented the country in two Olympics. Moreover, he has helped the TT fraternity in sponsoring tournaments earlier and has come as chief guest for tournaments,” he said.
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