East Zone TT: Harmeet, Amalraj, Madhurika to lead title challenge

More than 1087 players in five age groups will compete for eight days at the national East Zone TT event offering a total prize money of Rs. 7,46,600.

Harmeet Desai, ranked 111 in the world, will be the highest-ranked player at the tournament.

Top paddlers like Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, Sudhanshu Grover, Manav Thakkar, Sanil Shetty, Suthirta Mukherjee, Archana Kamath and Madhurika Patkar will be seen in action in the UTT National ranking table tennis championships (East Zone) starting at the refurbished Dumurjlala Stadium, Howrah, from Friday.

More than 1087 players in five age groups will compete for eight days in the event offering a total prize money of Rs. 7,46,600. The championships will start with the cadet and sub-junior events, followed by elite men and women events, starting from October 22.

The men’s champion will get Rs. 77,000, while the women’s champion will be richer by Rs. 66,000. The championships will also have men and women’s team events for eastern and north-eastern states.

“We have done enormous work to get the stadium ready for the tournament with the help of the State Government. Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee and Sports Minister Aroop Biswas have helped us a lot. Around 25 years ago table tennis used to be held regularly here. It was closed for the last ten years. I hope the culture of table tennis will be back again in Howrah after this tournament,” said organizing secretary Sharmi Sengupta.