Nagpur is set to host the first Maharashtra State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament of the season at Subhedar Hall, with the five-day championship getting underway on Friday.
For the first time in over a decade, the Maharashtra State Table Tennis Association (MSTTA) has allotted the season-opening ranking tournament to Nagpur, MSTTA secretary Ashutosh Potnis said while addressing the media on Thursday.
A total of 943 players from across Maharashtra will compete in 12 events across various age groups during the tournament. Eight tables have been set up to ensure the smooth conduct of the championship, which will conclude on June 30.
The tournament will be inaugurated at 10 am on Friday by former MLC and Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) president Sandip Joshi.
Chief referee Mangesh Mopkar said nearly 970 matches will be played during the event, with more than 175 players from Nagpur participating across different categories.
Providing details of the seeded players, Deepak Kanetkar said Aadi Chitnis and Jayesh Kulkarni from Nagpur have been seeded sixth and eighth, respectively, in the men’s singles category. In the Under-11 girls’ category, Saee Gunjal, seeded sixth, is the only seeded paddler from Nagpur.
Potnis added that all other Nagpur players, including the city’s international medallist Jennifer Varghese, will compete as unseeded participants. Jennifer has confirmed her participation in the Under-19 girls’ singles and women’s singles events.
Assistant referee Prafulla Nandedkar said the Under-15 singles category has attracted the highest number of entries, with 151 players registered.
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