Sri Lanka to host the South Asian Table Tennis Championships
Sri Lanka will host the South Asian Table Tennis Championship for the first time in the history of the sport in the country. The South Asian Table Tennis Union (SATTU) will conduct the prestigious event, to be held at the Jagath Rajapakse International Indoor
Stadium in Kandy from 21 to 28 April, 2011.
The Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (TTASL) has formed different committees, under the supervision of Chairman Fadyl Meedin, to make the event successful.
The main concern for the association is to get sponsorships; eight million Sri Lankan rupees are required to organise the tournament.
The Sri Lankan Sports Ministry has announced that it will provide Rs 3 million for the event. The TTASL will seek further funding from the SATTU, as well as from local and international companies.
Meanwhile, the venue for the event is still under-construction; the TTASL hopes to get it completed by the end of March. However, it will still need a stamp of quality approval from the International Table Tennis Federation.
The stadium will be equipped with a large playing area and will have the capacity to hold eight table tennis tables; it will also have changing rooms and a rest area for the players.
Ex-table tennis player Jagath Rajapakshe, who owns the stadium, has spent 20 million Sri Lankan rupees on the construction, so far. Rajapakshe, who is also the coach of the national team, says he was helped by just one donor who funded the carpets for the
playing area.
All teams from the South Asian Association for Regional cooperation (SAARC) will be participating in the tournament, except Afghanistan. The tournament will host junior and senior categories: with men's and women’s singles, team events and doubles events.
Eight countries are expected to contest in the senior division, while six nations will compete for honours in the junior category.
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