Over 225 players take part in Para National Ranking TT tourney

Indore: The Para National Ranking Table Tennis Tournament began at Abhay Prashal on Wednesday with the classification of new athletes. For 43 first-time entrants, the process was key to stepping into a competition that is considered a gateway and could ultimately lead them to a spot in the Indian team.From morning until late evening, 35 men and 8 women athletes were assessed by national classifiers Vinayak Sutar and Sanjay Ayachit of Maharashtra. Players waited their turn in the hall, undergoing checks that decide the category in which they will compete. Without clearance, no athlete can proceed to the league stage beginning on Thursday. The three-day championship, being staged under the banner of the Table Tennis Federation of India, will play a decisive role in shaping India's para table tennis contingent. Together with two more tournaments in Baroda and Indore later this season, performances here will serve as the selection yardstick for the national squad.More than 225 players from 20 states are in the fray here, including world-ranked names who arrived with serious credentials. Delhi's Ekta Bhyan (WR-8), Karnataka's Dr S.J. Rajalakshmi (WR-19), and Bihar's Vidhya Kumari (WR-26) headline the women's field, while Haryana's Asian Games bronze medalist Sandeep Dangi (WR-38) and Delhi's Shubham Wadhawa (WR-40) bolster the men's draw.Tournament director Jayesh Acharya said that matches will be staged on ten Stag tables with Butterfly premium balls. A panel of 25 referees under chief referee D. Raman Kumar will conduct the fixtures. The championship runs till Sept 5, with winners and runners-up set to receive trophies, certificates, and prize money worth Rs. 1.5 lakh, supported by UTT.